By Carol Tannenhauser
The individual depicted above is wanted in connection with a grand larceny that occurred inside Fairway Market, on Broadway and 74th Street, on Friday, August 4, at approximately 4:09 p.m.
An 80-year-old woman had her wallet and cell phone in a shopping bag, presumably in a shopping cart, when the suspect swiped it and fled, according to an NYPD detective. No one was injured.
Anyone with information regarding 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 https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
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Who would steal an 80-year- old woman’s wallet and cell phone?
A drug addict?
Someone who knows there are no consequences for assault/robbery etc
Not necessarily. Just anyone who thinks they can get away with it, because these days most people can
Q: Who Would Steal an 80-Year-Old Woman’s Wallet and Cell Phone?
A: Someone who BELONGS IN JAIL
A person with no inherent sense of morality or desire to be part of a civilized society.
Heads up people. Just returned home shaken. Walking up WEA 82nd St, a car piulld over and ask me to come close, I took a few steps, closer he said, I did not, the driver leaner over, held up a gold ring they found and wanted to give it to me! I am an 80 year old man wearing a large sun hat carrying a library book.
Easy target to pull in the car and then——-! Be careful of this ploy.
Please call the 20th precinct and file a police report. Hopefully you got the description of the individual, the make up the car, license plate, perhaps?
I saw a thing on the local news about that scam. Good you didn’t fall for it.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/international-jewelry-swap-scam-targets-new-yorkers-what-to-know-to-protect-yourself/4441063/
I really appreciate you all reporting that here, I never even heard of this scam.
Truly disgusting but not at all surprising
“Who would steal an 80 year old’s iphone”?
Someone who knows that there are very mild repercussions and who has no shame.
We should avoid describing the suspect as mentally ill or homeless or a drug addict.
She is a thief.
Not to be hard-hearted, but the crime is the theft and not up for debate. The thieve’s motivation or other problems is a totally separate matter, not an excuse for anti-social behavior. Law-abiding citizens (sounds quaint these days) must be kept safe in the community. This is the basic responsibility of government. That said, it falls on deaf ears.
Sadly it’s visibly evident that criminals are regularly visiting Fairway from the fact they have started locking up laundry detergent. Ice cream will be next. Personal care items…hopefully the stairs and slow elevators will insulate them from the grab and run crowd (wonder if they even run or just saunter out).
Icecream has been locked for three weeks (Haggen Dasz)
Stealing is never good no matter what. The mental anguish it inflicts is almost worse than the hassle of trying to replace what was stolen. Some things can never be replaced and that loss is almost impossible to ‘get over’. As said here, without punishment we are ALL SITTING DUCKS.
Ice cream ‘locks’ started showing up a week or two ago at Fairway
Low level crimes and quality of life breakdowns are taking a tremendous toll on our neighborhood … I’ve been here 40-years and it has never been this bad. I fear it may be time to move. And I can’t believe I’m even saying that!!
As an 80-year-old woman who shops at Fairway and who has lived in New York for 63 years, so here in the 60’s and 70’s, I can’t imagine leaving anything valuable in a shopping cart, only close to my body. That is not to say that there hasn’t been an increase in opportunistic thievery, which is mpst upsetting, but the need for vigilance hasn’t really changed in the last 6 decades.
Agreed. I’m also an old lady who keeps her valuables in a zippered crossbody bag or something similar. Always has, in good economic times or bad. This is not paranoia; it’s giving the thieves among us less opportunity for opportunistic grabs. Call me a victim-blamer, but it’s just asking for trouble to leave a purse, wallet or phone in a shopping cart.
Usually, people who steal are desperate and this is the only way they know to get money. I’m guessing that many of them would have jobs if they could get them, but maybe don’t have skills, maybe don’t have HS diploma, maybe don’t have an address (homeless), maybe have a record (whether minor or major) already. They shouldn’t steal, but labeling them “criminals,” “belongs in jail,” “no inherent sense of morality or desire to be part of a civilized society,” etc., doesn’t help us or them.
They are criminals. One and done. What brought them to this point can hopefully be rectified, but excusing their behavior is a danger to society.
SJR: If this were true then everyone who is poor would be a criminal. Stop making excuses for bad behavior.
This able-bodied woman who was cogent enough to find an easy mark to steal from is not a victim, or desperate, or in need of anything but a jail cell.
Nonsense. Assuming innocent victimhood of thieves is the kind of lazy idealism that got us into this expanding crime mess.
Do you really feel sympathy for every criminal who targets an elderly person? I think they’re bullies and severely character-deficient.
Your argument also insults the working poor who manage, through great hardship and persistence, to survive without victimizing others. Reward upstanding, hardworking people, not criminals.
I am going to undercut my above comment a little because I’m worried about some of the more mean-spirited comments against the homeless here. Although I feel great anger and disgust toward people who steal from the elderly, I do know there are some people on the street with very real, painful mental health issues and drug problems. I just don’t think our city life should revolve around excusing their bad behavior.
People who have no control over their lives aren’t going to turn them around and become law-abiding citizens just because you throw sympathy at them. We have to have standards that EVERYONE is expected to follow, and if some people can’t or won’t, they should be dealt with humanely but firmly.
It is not true that people who commit crimes are desparate. Billionaires commit crimes (ask Bernie Madoff) and plenty of people in between. There are people on this earth who feel that it is ok to take what is not theirs and there are people who do not. It is that simple and it has been that way since the beginning of time. There are just truly bad people in this world and until we understand that, we aren’t going to fix these problems. Bad people need to be removed from society and the reason is that good people do not want them around. It really is that simple. People who side with bad people are also bad people, despite their intentions. I always thought that the battle of good vs evil was a silly thing, but it amazes me that the older I get, the more that I think that good vs evil is exactly what is going on in this world. If I had my way, I’d opt for far greater punishments. Why should we allow bad people to commit crime after crime on us and our children? I say you commit a serious crime and you are DONE. The people committing crimes have rap sheets often pages long. What we don’t understand is that all these assaults are happening to real people and real families. I really can’t believe at this point that enforcing the law and putting bad people away has actually become like a debateable issue. Evil is winning.
Oh boy…. Really?
There are plenty of job opportunities in NYC.
Many stores, businesses, restaurants, shops are in desperate need of employees.
What really ticks me off, (besides all, the bikes on the sidewalks), is the fact that at age 60 I am working, and I am approached almost every single day by some young man in his 20s, who is demanding money from me, in the form of aggressive panhandling. I know I shouldn’t say it, but I say every time, “ Get a job”.
Want to blame this on someone, OK….
– families, parents, mom, dad, grandma, aunt.
Someone doesn’t bring a child up into an adult to teach them that you don’t steal. Period.
And….. I’m gonna go out here on a limb, and probably get roasted for this, but I also blame my fellow neighbors for constantly giving money to homeless who use that money to go buy drugs and alcohol to feed their addictions or to cover up their mental illness.
I’ve spoken to the Department of Homeless Services and they tell me one of the biggest problem is they can’t get anyone off the street because….. the neighborhood is giving them money which they using to buy drugs.
No one is hungry.
Let me repeat that, no one is hungry.
We have a ton of food pantries here in our neighborhood and I donate to the one on W. 86th St., which is quite lovely. Anyone can go there and get food.
Every time I tell a homeless person that, I will walk them there or I’ll go in a cab there with them, they always say no. They just want the $$$.
And then there’s the folks that come from other boroughs to panhandle here.
There is one woman, a heavyset young woman in her 30s? Always wears pink. She lives in the Bronx and aggressively panhandle to buy lottery tickets. The ones that you scratch off.
Is she mentally ill? Probably yes, I’ve seen her lower her underwear and defecate on the sidewalk as if it’s her toilet.
There’s also another young man who has an apartment downtown, courtesy of the taxpayers of New York City, who comes up here to panhandle under the guise of being homeless. He’s better dressed than you and I, but he is pretty aggressive about it.
Many years ago, I spoke to our prior council woman about this, and she was well aware of the different folks that were coming here from out of town. So, it’s not a state secret, except I guess to the people who are giving them money.
If you want to, donate your money, please give it to a food pantry. That way it will not go to buy drugs, and also bring drug dealers into the neighborhood which affects our young children.
My dog walker resigned because she wants to be a vet assistant and the company she worked for is having a hard time finding a replacement (and they offer paid vacations and benefits.). My cleaning company (who also offers benefits and paid vacations) is turning clients away because they can’t find staff. These are jobs which don’t require HS degrees.
There is a regular panhandler around the 97th St Whole Foods who lives in public housing a few blocks away. He is not homeless. He is plying his profession of begging.
I wish people knew how many of the panhandlers have a place to live! The woman I used to give money to lives in a nice studio apartment paid for by Breaking Ground. Do not give money to panhandlers.
We’re not labeling them as criminals, they are simply people behaving in a manner consistent with criminality, and thus are categorized as such. Our society has identified several consequences that can be handed down by our legal system. One of those remedies to combat criminal behavior is being remanded to the custody of the state or simply, jail. The last piece about “no morality” etc. is silly and I agree with you.
In the final analysis people are being allowed to exhibit behaviors that are either directly harmful to an individual as in this case or harmful to all of us in the case of shoplifting in the form of higher prices. Doing nothing is not a viable strategy. Most of the people who commit these acts meet the legal definition of sanity which is not mutually exclusive to having mental health issues.
The current situation is not sustainable. No matter if we feel compassion for the perpetrator or not, we must protect people from being victimized. What is the role of society if not that.
If someone’s take from the story is not compassion for the 80-year-old victim, but justification of the perpetrator’s motives, no wonder we are slipping deeper and deeper into lawlessness.
Well, they are committing crimes, ergo they are criminals.
As long as people keep making excuses for them, they will take advantage. This person wasn’t stealing food, but rather the personal belongings of an elderly shopper.
Calling people who commit crimes criminals is not “labelling”. There should be consequences and yes, they don’t have morality.
Many of these people have no desire to have jobs, not due to the lack of skills. Many don’t want to put an effort into acquiring skills, they view people with jobs as suckers.
Let’s stop presenting all criminals as victims. Most of them are very aware of what they are doing.
What makes you think all of them want jobs?
A criminal shouldn’t be called a criminal? Seriously?
Thanks for this report–it makes me more depressed about living on the UWS. As for the excuses about why people should have to steal when there are plenty of jobs–well, they know they can get away with it. Also, re. the panhandling that contributes to the deterioration of the neighborhood–if people would stop giving these deadbeats handouts, maybe they would go away. Like the guy with the dog who hangs out at 86th and Broadway and his muse, with her “giving up hope” sign which she’s been using for years outside the CVS store (by the way, why and how do these people manage to have cell phones? ). One other comment about the panhandlers, especially the women–they approach you for cash with a sweet “please help me out” but when you say a firm no, they turn away and call me a “F—in bitch.”
Was it George Santos or some other political figure.They quietly steal millionsThat photo tries to perpetuate a certain narrative.For example,there were over 7700 murders committed while Rudy Guiliani was mayor, but people are convinced crime is worse now.
That photo was collected by a Detective, it was posted here in the hopes that someone will recognize the person and give that information to the Police so they can make an arrest. This isn’t a game or a political statement.
thank you for your common sense reply!
The only election this year is city council. Diane Di Stasio vs. Gale Brewer The candidate on the side of the crime victim. Di Stasio. The candidate who is in the corner of the criminal. That would be Gale Brewer
reply to Bill Pearlman:
this is really a disgusting allegation. Gale Brewer is a public figure, so i guess you can say whatever you want about her with no recourse. Gale works with NYPD extensively.
Gale is one of the most popular elected officials in NYC, and one of the most effective. What does it say about WSR that so many commenters are willing to spread libels about her, as Bill Pearlman did above?