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CRAIGSLIST-ROBBER IMPERSONATED COP AND SEXUALLY ASSAULTED UPPER WEST SIDE WOMAN, POLICE SAY

June 15, 2017 | 9:10 AM - Updated on June 5, 2022 | 11:29 PM
in CRIME, NEWS
45

Police say the man shown above impersonated an officer to commit a series of crimes in Manhattan, including robbing and sexually assaulting a woman on the Upper West Side after contacting his victims via Craigslist.

Incident #1: On Sunday, February 19, 2017 at 1830 hours, at Columbus Avenue and West 63rd street, a 24-year-old female victim met an unidentified individual who responded to her Craigslist post to buy two cell phones. The male removed the cell phones from her while displaying a badge and forcibly touched the victim on her breast before departing in a white four door sedan.

Incident #2: On Saturday, April 15, 2017 at approximately 1905 hours, in front of 200 Eastern Parkway, a 16-year-old male victim met the unidentified individual through Craigslist to sell him a cell phone, when the individual displayed a shield and told the victim that he is a police officer. The individual departed in a white four door sedan.

Incident #3: On Saturday, June 03, 2017 at 1620 hours, at 2155 University Avenue, a 23-year-old male met the unidentified individual whom he met through Craigslist to sell a cell phone, when the individual displayed a shield and identified himself as a police officer. The male removed the victim’s cell phone and departed in a white four door sedan with New Jersey license plates.

He is described as a male, Asian, 22-27 years old.

https://www.westsiderag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1504-17-city-wide-pattern-7FINAL.mp4

Anyone with information in regards 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 WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

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45 Comments
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UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago

When people read the word “Asian”, they think Chinese / Japanese / Korean. This man clearly is not one of those, he appears Indian. I hope this creep is caught soon.

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Upper West Side Wally
Upper West Side Wally
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

Just of the top of my head: Vietnamese, Laotian, Filipino, Cambodian, Indonesian (sigh…)

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deed
deed
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

Indians are Asian…

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Sam
Sam
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

UWSHebrew: People? Which people? All people but you? You’re not the only person who knows what Asian means. If you clarified the description for others, great, but consider that you’re assuming the rest of us don’t know what you know.

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geoff
geoff
8 years ago
Reply to  Sam

wow! only in america. an entire sub continent, overlooked, unseen, unconsidered.

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UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  Sam

Not everyone is as worldly and wise as you Sam. When a police bulletin states “Asian”, that is what the AVERAGE person thinks. Thanks for the unwarranted, vicious attack, you must be a peach to be around.

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EricaC
EricaC
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

This is a good one, UWSHebrew; because you (and other “average” people) don’t know that India is part of Asia, we should apply another term in police announcements?

I remember being mortified in high school when I hadn’t realized that India was in Southeast Asia. I do know our educational system is somewhat lacking, so maybe average people never get this far in learning geography,

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Sam
Sam
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

UWSHebrew, you keep doing it: “When people read the word “Asian”, they think Chinese / Japanese / Korean.” Which people? “People who know less than I do”?

Nobody viciously attacked you. What happened was, you assumed others are stupid and I pointed it out. Don’t exaggerate.

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Mark
Mark
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

That was a “vicious” attack on you?
Oh puhleeze..

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Mark
Mark
8 years ago
Reply to  Mark

One thing I am not is a snowflake.

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UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  Mark

I know what you are Mark.

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MaryDowns
MaryDowns
8 years ago

I’m sure I’m not the first to notice, but if the white sedan in the clip is the robber’s, the video includes a side-long view of the license plate, with the second and third numbers being 53?

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David
David
8 years ago

Indian is Asian. Can we all agree that UWSHebrew needs to be banned from this site? This person clearly only posts to get a rise out of people. I think we all have grown tired of his negative attitude.

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kaylord
kaylord
8 years ago
Reply to  David

Yes, please.

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Reply
Cato
Cato
8 years ago
Reply to  David

We can’t ban him. Without him we would never be able to know what *the* “average” person thinks. He’s the one who knows, so we need to keep him around to educate us.

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UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  Cato

I just gave my opinion on how the description of “Asian” on the police bulletin is not helpful in catching this person based on the photo and video of him that is provided. But if you take that opinion as a sign of extreme arrogance regarding what I think is your and other WSR readers lack of understanding, you are too focused on yourself, as I’m not addressing you. Just the wording in the police bulletin.

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UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  David

I second the motion!

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Mark
Mark
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

I agree with you for the first time ever.

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GG
GG
8 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Geeez! Will one of you guys (or both) add a number or an initial or something to your name. This is getting ridiculous.

Don’t you want to distinguish yourselves from each other? Otherwise what is the point.

Just sayin

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OriginalMark
OriginalMark
8 years ago
Reply to  GG

I have been posting under “Mark” for a long time. Not sure who the new Mark is but I will change mine to OriginalMark.

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Mark
Mark
8 years ago
Reply to  Mark

For the record, that’s the other Mark.
This Mark is not in favor of banning!

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EricaC
EricaC
8 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Let him speak. As is always the case, the more people speak, the clearer it is what they are. These situations will take care of themselves. To the extent something needs rebutting, rebut it. To the extent it is simply trolling, ignore it. Don’t ban.

Free speech does not mean only speech that is pleasant or intelligent. Even hearing things that you disagree with or that offend you can teach you, help you refine your thinking, teach you to argue better.

And most importantly – suppressing your opponent does not defeat him, it merely defers the battle. As we are seeing in spades today. So many people who are infuriated that they could not speak. Instead of confronting the wrongs, we have forced them to be hidden. Clearly, the time for that is past.

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Reply
Mark
Mark
8 years ago
Reply to  Mark

You’re welcome – but I’m the Mark you don’t like.

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Reply
UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Thanks Mark 2.0 !

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Denton Taylor
Denton Taylor
8 years ago

Strange. I moderate two different literature lists where we discuss literature of authors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. We refer to this literature as ‘South Asian’ literature. We refer to Chinese/Korean etc people and literature as Asian. I understand that usage can be different elsewhere in the world, where the term East Asian is used.

The car in the photo is a Crown Victoria with a police antenna visible on the trunk lid and New Jersey plates. I assume it was bought at a police auction.

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Paul RL
Paul RL
8 years ago

I agree with UWSH’s comment above, and I don’t see what the fuss is about. Asia is the world’s largest continent and has many different regions that are home to many distinct ethnic groups. Describing someone simply as “Asian” when their ethnicity clearly points toward the Indian Subcontinent can be very misleading and detrimental to catching the suspect. It’s akin to describing someone simply as “American” or “Canadian.”

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Reply
Cat
Cat
8 years ago
Reply to  Paul RL

I UWSH’s comment reads, ‘This man clearly is not one of those, he appears Indian.’

How is this man clearly Indian (based solely on this photo)?

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Reply
UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  Cat

Re-read your question which includes what you think is my quote. Do you see an error? I stated “appears Indian”. Not “clearly Indian”. He also appears Middle Eastern. But he is clearly NOT Japanese / Chinese / Korean, which was my point in the first place regarding the description on the police bulletin “Asian”.

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Reply
OriginalMark
OriginalMark
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

UWSHebrew -it really isn’t a PC issue but rather a “fact” issue. I get that facts are not popular among the Right but it would be helpful if you would at least try to keep up (and man up a bit).

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OriginalMark
OriginalMark
8 years ago
Reply to  OriginalMark

It is a fact that China, Japan, and Korea are not the only Asian countries.
You really must do better at keeping up.
You certainly wouldn’t want people to think of conservatives as being ill-informed or poorly educated now, would you?

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Reply
UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  OriginalMark

Yes, it is a FACT that this man is not Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. Your attempt at emasculating me has failed, as I am quite the opposite in appearance of your Woody Allen stereotype Jew.

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Reply
Cat
Cat
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

No, there is no error, and you have no idea what ethnicity he, and can’t say that he’s NOT Japanese / Chinese / Korean, based on a photo, so stop being so ridiculous. You accuse people of attacking you and then just continue to post more nonsense.

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Reply
UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  Cat

This is what happens when someone is too steeped in PC nonsense. Yes, I can say, with 100$ certainty, that he is not Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. It’s called common sense.

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Bruce Bernstein
Bruce Bernstein
8 years ago
Reply to  Cat

good point, Cat.

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Reply
UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago
Reply to  Paul RL

Thank you Paul RL for seeing the benign tone of my Asian comment. Unfortunately because I point out views that are contrary to many WSR readers (such as having a play that depicts a Trump look-alike being stabbed to death as unacceptable), I am vilified as someone with a “negative attitude”. For some WSR readers in particular, they are offended that because my screen name on here identifies me as Jewish, this makes my views ever so much worse, as I am supposed to be a “progessive”, “liberal”, Democrat, and I proudly strike out on all three!

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Reply
Mark
Mark
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

Oh lordy – does the snowflakery ever end?

0
Reply
GG
GG
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

I don’t know about “progressive”, “liberal” or “Democrat”….

how about a human being? Not everything is political, as we have seen these last few days.

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Reply
John
John
8 years ago

Saw him at a Trump protest , are all the victims Republicain?

0
Reply
Jim Demetrios
Jim Demetrios
8 years ago

This low life human garbage is all over Craigslist. Beware!

0
Reply
lynn
lynn
8 years ago

Thumbs up to allie!

0
Reply
Steve
Steve
8 years ago

Everyone is too busy bantering back and forth.

Why can’t they make the license plate by stopping the video and enhancing the rear plate???

0
Reply
UWSHebrew
UWSHebrew
8 years ago

That’s comparing apples and oranges, hysterical allie. Whenever that happened regarding Obama and hung in effigy, that was done by little groups of losers at a protest. As did your fellow leftists who hung BUSH in effigy! Can’t compare the two, no matter how much your NYU professors say you can. Any sitting POTUS, Democrat or Republican, who is mock-assassinated in a play, is anti-American traitorous filth.

0
Reply
OriginalMark
OriginalMark
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

Looks like someone is desperate for a safe space.

0
Reply
Cat
Cat
8 years ago
Reply to  UWSHebrew

“Any sitting POTUS, Democrat or Republican, who is mock-assassinated in a play, is anti-American traitorous filth.”

You said it, lol!

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BillyNYC
BillyNYC
8 years ago

Tell the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers to send this to the lab to read the plate on the car and go get him.

0
Reply

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