Phony Cops Attempt Kidnapping at LIC Car Dealership

Mugshot of Jose Santiago-Cruz. Photo courtesy of the NYPD.

By Christina Carrega

Two men are wanted for posing as cops and trying to kidnap a motorist who was waiting for his car to be serviced in Long Island City, police said.

A 28-year-old man was inside a Hyundai dealership on 44th Street near Northern Boulevard waiting for his car when two men approached him.

One of the men sprayed the customer with an unknown substance and said he was under arrest for “being a fugitive,” the real police said.

The men attempted to remove the customer from the location in handcuffs, police said.

The victim struggled to fight the two men who then fled in a gray 2012 Dodge Caravan on Northern Boulevard.

Police identified one of the impersonators as 40-year-old Jose Santiago-Cruz, who is a Hispanic man, 5-foot-6, 200 pounds with dark colored hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.