New York investigates auto theft, crash conspiracy – NBC New York (47)

NEW YORK – NYPD are looking for two people in a spree of auto thefts in Brooklyn and Queens, in a plot in which suspects rear-end their victims to force them out of their vehicles and strip them of their belongings, say the authorities.

The four car thefts occurred over 12 days in the two districts, police say. The first case in the scheme came on Sunday, Oct. 15, when police say the robbers rear-ended a driver at 194th Street and 112th Avenue.

The 27-year-old victim then gets out of the car and is faced with a gun by the two men who shot him. These have lately been on the run in both vehicles. Fortunately the driver was not injured in that case.

Four days later, on October 19, at around 2.15am in Linden Place, police say a driver of a Mercedes-Benz SUV was rear-ended by another car. Once again, two alleged attackers confront the driver of the Mercedes after he gets out of his vehicle. They did not display a weapon in that case but instead punched and kicked him, police say. Then they set off in both cars.

The victim refused to receive medical treatment at the scene.

The subsequent car theft occurred on Friday 21 October, when police said a 52-year-old driving a Ford saloon was rear-ended by another vehicle at around 2.30am on Elton Street. That case followed the same pattern as the others, police say. The victim’s phone was taken away with his car. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

The latest in the string of reported robberies took place just before Halloween at around 00:30 on 27 October. At the time, a 40-year-old man in a BMW sedan was driving near Atlantic Avenue and Hendrix Street when he was rear-ended by another black sedan. He was also confronted by two men who got out of the car with guns drawn. The two robbers fled in both vehicles, leaving the 40-year-old behind. No injuries were reported in that case, police said.

Anyone with information about this incident should call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their own suggestions by logging into the Crime Stoppers website or a Twitter @NYPDTips.