Man wanted for stealing scooter near Middle Village fast food restaurant after hitting passenger: NYPD – QNS

Police in Ridgewood's 104th Precinct are searching for a suspect who punched a 47-year-old man, threatened to shoot him and stole his scooter in Middle Village more than a week ago.

The incident occurred near the Wendy's restaurant at 61-11 Fresh Pond Rd. around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 11, when the unknown man approached the victim and took his two-wheeler. When the man tried to get back on his bike, the attacker punched him and acted like he had a gun, then fled on a scooter westbound on Eliot Avenue toward from Metropolitan Avenue. The victim suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment at the crime scene.

The NYPD released surveillance video of the suspect as he walked along Fresh Pond Road. He wore a black tracksuit, white sneakers, a black baseball cap and a black backpack with white stripes on the straps. At one point in the video, the criminal appears to be escorted off the premises by two workers who were not involved in the theft, according to an NYPD spokeswoman, who added that there were no arrests and that the investigation was still ongoing. A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information leading to his arrest.

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 crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages remain confidential.

Through June 16, the 104th Precinct has reported 99 thefts so far in 2024, one more than the 98 reported at the same time last year, an increase of 1%, according to the most recent CompStat report . Assaults are on the rise in the district with 141 reported so far this year, a dozen more than the 130 reported at the same time in 2023, an increase of 9.2%, according to CompStat.