While robberies remain lower than expected for this time of year, a pattern has emerged in the last 28-day period.

On November 20th, police say a Hispanic male in his late twenties dressed in a baseball cap and dark jacket approached a male victim from behind and put him in a choke hold on East 13th Street between First and Second Avenues. The victim’s wallet and cell phone were then stolen. At Tuesday’s Community Council Meeting, Deputy Inspector John Cappelmann said that the attack was caught on surveillance video taken outside of the Verizon building on East 13th Street. The suspect is believed to be roughly six feet tall and two hundred pounds.

Police believe the suspect is also linked to a robbery outside of 65 Second Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets on December 5th, as well as in two other robberies committed in Stuyvesant Town, that fall under the jurisdiction of the Thirteenth Precinct. All of the forced robberies took place after midnight. In the December 5th attack, the suspect approached another man and punched him in the face before robbing him.

Police arrested an initial suspect who was later released. – Annie Fairman