There are a lot of dumb thieves out there—robbers who don't do their due diligence, or return to the scene of their crime the next day to ask for a job, or leave behind t-shirts with their face on it. But one serial Manhattan mugger has figured out a pretty smart way to rip off his victims: charm them with some light conversation first. more ›

The man suspected of mugging six women and threatening them with an ice pick in the Bronx and Manhattan was arraigned yesterday, and his cousin offered an explanation about John Martinez's alleged actions. Kenny Colon said Martinez was "stressing about how to afford everything for the holidays... He was thinking about beinggood to his family and Christmas ... not about hurting anybody." Well, in one instance, he was upset that one victim didn't give him enough money, "This is not enough. Take me to your apartment or I will stab your son." No one was hurt in any of the muggings. more ›

It's reported that the man suspected of six muggings at Co-op City in the Bronx and at Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan has been arrested in NJ. The Post reports, "A hulking ex-con was picked up by cops in Bergen County, NJ, over the weekend -- and sources said he's being eyed as the ice-pick predator." In the six crimes, a man wielding an ice pick (or knife) has approached women entering their apartment buildings, threatened them, and taken their money, jewelry, and cellphones. The man in custody, who was apprehended after a tip, allegedly has previous arrests. more ›

Yesterday, police arrested a man suspected of mugging five women last Wednesday and Thursday on the Upper East Side. In many of the instances, the suspect approached a woman from behind, demanded money and claimed he had a knife; Tyrone Hunter, 55, an ex-con recently released from prison, was charged with robbery and assault. more ›

A tip from a reader pointed us to the Brooklynian message board, where a woman posted about being mugged in Park Slope this past week... "I was robbed and bashed on the head by something that felt like a bottle (but may have been something else), and ended up in the hospital with stitches." more ›

There have been at least three muggings of Fordham students in the past week, according to NY1 News, at least one incident involving "steak knives." The Post also notes that the attacks have taken place at Lorillard and 189th Streets, but police claimed the attacks were "not part of a pattern." more ›

Police are looking for a teenage trio responsible for a new mugging spree in the West Village and SoHo. The gang of two males and a female in their late teens went on a tear early one morning a couple weeks back, hitting up four victims in less than five hours. The Post reports the first robbery took place as the bar crowd spilled out onto the streets of Greenwich Village just after four in the morning on August 28th. The initial mugging occurred at Washington Place and Washington Square West and the three subsequent incidents were all within a short distance from there. The trio is then suspected of committing a fifth robbery on August 31st on West 9th Street. The gang is said to have flashed a knife at their targets, but none of the victims were injured. The two male suspects were described as 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds and the girl thief as 5-foot-4 and 115 pounds, police said. Last year the West Village was on alert after a spate of violent muggings went down in a small area. more ›

According to police, a man has been mugging elderly people in broad daylight. WABC 7 reports that all muggings took place in Manhattan: "In each incident the suspect grabs the victims and forcefully removes their wallets. The suspect then flees the location on foot. Minor injuries have been sustained in each of the incidents." The first was on May 25, when a 77-year-old man was attacked in the lobby of 447 East 14th. Four days later, a 91-year-old man was mugged at 1:40 p.m. in the elevator at 247 West 12th Street. And this past sunday, a 62-year-old was robbed in the lobby of 440 East 23rd Street at 3:10 p.m. WABC 7 says, "The suspect is described as a man in his 40s, bald, 5'5"-5'8" tall, and 200 pounds." Police are asking anyone with information to call CrimeStoppers 800-577-TIPS, to visit the CrimeStoppers website or to text info to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577. more ›

Four teenagers in Queens have been arrested in a series of brutal muggings, one of which was caught in graphic detail on a surveillance video. They are accused of robbing six men in a string of violent incidents over the last two weeks. One of the victims told NY1, "I felt like I was going to die. You panic. You think, how could this be happening to me? You see it in the movies and you really don't think its going to happen to you." more ›

Let's say you are getting mugged and for whatever reason Ashton Kutcher isn't there to save the day. Well, now he can be, at least in the spirit of Punk'd. After a series of hipster muggings, one man has come up with a DIY solution: the decoy wallet (pictured). more ›

Police continue to maintain a heightened presence in the "Wild West Village" as they search for the two muggers responsible for a series of late night robberies and bloody attacks in the area over the last month. The only description of the pair is that they are "dark skinned," possibly so limited because they have been attacking their female victims from behind. Cops had originally said that the muggings were not part of a pattern, but now have confirmed that six are related. All have taken place between 11:30 pm and 2:45 am. more ›

The music has stopped at McCarren Park Pool, the hipsters have moved on to other concrete pastures, and it looks like crooks have been taking advantage of the area. The Brooklyn Paper has two accounts of recent muggings, reporting that "a thug shoved a woman and stole her purse at around 2 am...he threw her to the ground and warned, 'If you don’t stop struggling I’m really gonna hurt you.'" That same day someone attacked a 63-year-old man, demanding, in Polish, “Give me money.” When the man refused he was left with a black eye, but the police now have that suspect in custody. Looks like we're going back to Vigilante times, kids, at least until 2011. more ›

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