At least five gay men have been robbed by “mugging teams” in New York City’s West Village over the past two weeks, police warned yesterday.Wow! This is one of the few area I hang out while I'm in NYC. Sad to hear this is going on. To my fam down in the Village and Christopher St., be careful and stay alert.
The robberies, all during the early morning hours, were concentrated in the area of Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue South, the heart of the traditionally gay-oriented Village.
Along Christopher Street are several well-known gay bars, such as the Stonewall Inn, the Hangar, and Fat Cat.
The criminals are apparently finding their marks in such places, including a 26-year old victim who told investigators he “blacked out” during a party at the Hangar, and awoke in a pizza shop up the block, where he was met by a “heavyset woman”.
This woman told him his bag had been lifted, but she knew where it was. She led him to the bottom of a stairwell at 80 Christopher Street (many buildings and businesses along the blocks of Christopher Street west of Seventh have depressed entrances), where, she said, his bag had been dumped.
When the unidentified victim went down to retrieve it, he was jumped from behind and his iPhone was taken.
According to police, all five of the victims were alone when they were robbed, and detectives are said to be looking for several suspects, “possibly organized crews”.
Mugshots have been released of at least two suspects, one a heavyset woman described as a player in the Hangar robbery, and a possible accomplice, a young, fit male.
