'RUN YOUR POCKETS': Teen robbery crew terrorizes Bronx park for months, punching, choking and stomping on victims

Two suspects in the robbery spree are seen around the time of a mugging at East 170th Street and College Avenue on April 30
Two suspects in the robbery spree are seen around the time of a mugging at East 170th Street and College Avenue on April 30. Photo credit NYPD

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Police are searching for a teen robbery crew behind a months-long crime spree in which victims, most of them teen boys, were violently mugged in and around Claremont Park in the Bronx.

The NYPD released an image Tuesday showing two of the suspects being sought in the robbery pattern, which stretches back to January. Police also announced they'd arrested four teens on robbery, weapons and hate charges.

All the robberies involved a group of thieves targeting a victim inside Claremont Park or in the blocks surrounding it, police said. The first robbery linked to the pattern was on Jan. 11, while the most recent was this past Saturday.

Nearly all the victims were teens, some as young as 14 years old, though two were men in their 40s and 50s. Well over $6,000 in cash and valuables was stolen.

All of the robberies have taken place in or around Claremont Park (seen left)
All of the robberies have taken place in or around Claremont Park (seen left). Photo credit Evgeniia Ozerkina/Getty Images

The victims were pushed, punched, choked and stomped on. Some had knives held to their throats and ribs or guns pointed at them. None of the injuries were life-threatening, police said, though some of the victims sought medical attention, including for cuts and bruises.

In the most recent robbery around 1 a.m. Saturday, a 17-year-old girl was walking at East 171st Street and College Avenue—about a block from the park—when four males snatched a cellphone from her hands and told her they'd shoot her if she didn't leave.

And last Tuesday morning, a 17-year-old boy was pushed and robbed of his iPhone inside the park. A day before that, a 14-year-old boy was repeatedly punched in the face and robbed of his iPhone and Apple AirPods.

Last month, a 44-year-old man was chased, menaced with a blade and robbed of $250 cash near the park on the morning of April 30. Two weeks before that, on April 15, a 58-year-old man sitting on a bench in the park was surrounded by five masked males, who placed him in a chokehold and put a knife to his neck before NYPD officers intervened.

There were also five robberies in the park in March, including one in which a 17-year-old boy was beaten and robbed of cash at gunpoint on March 31. Days before that, on March 26, a 15-year-old boy was targeted by three males, who whipped out a knife and told him to "run your pockets" before bashing him over the face and stealing his iPhone, Apple AirPods and $800 cash.

A 15-year-old boy was also robbed of his iPhone and $200 jacket on March 17 as he walked through a tunnel in the park. He was surrounded by three males on Citi Bikes who threw him to the ground and stomped on him. That mugging followed a robbery on March 11, when two males threatened to stab a 14-year-old boy as they stole his backpack. On March 4, a 16-year-old was robbed of his iPhone by a single male who fled toward the basketball courts.

The robberies have occurred at all hours inside the park
The robberies have occurred at all hours inside the park. Photo credit Google Street View

Two 15-year-old boys and a 16-year-old boy were also mugged on Feb. 6, Jan. 24 and Jan. 11, respectively. Two were punched and the third had a knife held to his throat. They all had their phones stolen.

Police said Tuesday that they'd arrested four teens in the spree—an 18-year-old man and three boys, ages 17, 14 and 13.

The man—Sincere Johnson, of the Bronx—was charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

The three boys—who weren't identified because of their age—face robbery, weapons, stolen property and drug charges. The 13-year-old also faces a charge of first-degree robbery as a hate crime.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Featured Image Photo Credit: NYPD