Women beat up for-hire drivers and steal SUV, mug store clerk in NYC spree: cops

Metro

By Amanda Woods

June 1, 2023 | 5:26pm

A group of women are wanted for a two-borough robbery spree in which they beat up two for-hire drivers – stealing an SUV from one – and then pummeled a store clerk who tried to stop them from shoplifting.

Five women in total are wanted for the three stick-ups that took place in Manhattan and Brooklyn on May 21 and 22, but not all of them were present for each crime, police said.  

Four of the suspects first targeted a 44-year-old man who had parked his Toyota RAV4 on Ralph Avenue near Michael Griffith Street in Weeksville, Brooklyn around 2 a.m. May 21, cops said. 

The for-hire driver was waiting for his next scheduled pick-up when the group got into his car, punched him in the head and body and demanded his car keys, authorities said. 

The victim started to run off – but the women allegedly continued to beat him and grabbed the keys before he could get away.

The crew then took off in the SUV, heading west, toward Pacific Street, cops said. The driver’s headphones, various identification documents and other items were still inside the car. 

He was treated at the scene for his injuries. 

The second heist took place nearly two hours later on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, cops said. 

Two of the suspects approached a 58-year-old for-hire driver who had parked his 2015 Toyota sedan on East 88th Street near First Avenue just before 5 a.m., police said.

They got inside his car, pummeled him and ripped off his wallet before running off, authorities said. 

They fled into the vehicle stolen in the first incident, with at least one other person inside. 

The victim refused medical attention at the scene for minor injuries, police said. 

Then around 6:40 p.m. the next day, all five women showed up at a convenience store on Myrtle Avenue near Cedar Street in Bushwick, authorities said. 

The group tried to leave the shop without paying for “edible merchandise,” cops said. 

When a 20-year-old female worker tried to stop them, they argued with her before repeatedly punching her in the face, police said. 

The suspects grabbed the employee’s cell phone, as well as about $150 from behind the counter, cops said. 

They fled in the same stolen car, heading west on Myrtle Avenue, according to police. 

The victim refused medical attention for minor injuries, cops said. 

The stolen car was found parked and unoccupied on New York Avenue near Dean Street in Crown Heights on May 24, police said. 

The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspects in the hopes of tracking them down.