Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

UPDATE 6/13: 2nd Reader Reports Having iPhone Stolen From Her Hands By Same Perp

Got an e-mail last night from a reader detailing a pretty brazen theft of her iPhone:

The thief literally grabbed it from her hand while she sat at an UWS restaurant.

MUW reader Pam was dining around 7:55 pm yesterday when the incident took place:

Just having dinner with a friend at Tolani (410 Amsterdam, between 79th and 80th)…  white male, shaved head w/ goatee reaches over — as if getting a menu — [and] snatches my iphone out of my hand!!!!!!!

Be alert and report to 82nd St. police station if you see him!! He was wearing a blue and white rugby striped shirt!!

Pretty shitty situation.

This could easily be an isolated incident, but it’s a good reminder to always be aware of your surroundings. That said, I’m not sure what exactly you can do if someone decides to literally rip something from your hands and start running.

I don’t know if Pam tried to chase this guy down or not, but I’d advise caution if you’re in a similar situation.

A friend of mine was on the subway with his girlfriend a few months ago when someone snatched her iPad from her hands as the train pulled into a station. Instinctively, he chased after the thief, not realizing there were four other cohorts with him on the train.

One of them sucker-punched my friend, breaking his jaw. To make matters worse, he twisted his knee awkwardly when he fell to the ground after being punched, resulting in a torn ACL.

That may not be an everyday occurrence, but be very careful if you’re in a similar situation and someone grabs your stuff.

Anyone else ever have something stolen right out of their hands, either on the UWS or elsewhere in NYC?

Filed under: Crime, Going Out, Manhattan, New York City, News, NYC, Restaurants, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, UWS 2 Comments »
Tags: 410 Amsterdam, Crime, iPhone theft, New York City, NYC, Robbery, stolen iPhone, Theft, Tolani, Upper West Side, UWS