Two armed suspects allegedly sideswiped drivers with a stolen BMW across three Queens neighborhoods over five days in mid-August, making off with luxury cars, Rolex watches, cash and jewelry worth more than $150,000. The NYPD is now asking the public to help identify the pair, whose robbery pattern stretched from Flushing to Howard Beach to Jamaica between August 14 and August 19.
The spree began at 7:02 a.m. on August 14, when two unidentified individuals approached a 40-year-old man opposite 138-18 57 Road in Flushing, according to NYPD Crime Stoppers. One suspect sideswiped the victim with a white Acura TLX bearing New Jersey plate X68NPS, then displayed a firearm and demanded his car keys and property, per the same account. The victim lost his wallet, containing credit cards, personal identification and roughly $30, along with his BMW X3, which carries New York plate HKD7084. According to a report from FOX 5 New York, police suspect that same stolen BMW was the vehicle the suspects drove during both of the attacks that followed.
A Brutal Second Attack in Jamaica
The next morning, August 15, the pair struck again around 8 a.m. in front of 168-06 Linden Boulevard, approaching a 32-year-old man. One of the two suspects displayed a firearm and struck the victim in the head with it, causing a laceration, per NYPD Crime Stoppers. The suspects then ransacked the interior of his vehicle and demanded his Rolex watch and wallet before fleeing in an unknown direction. FOX 5 New York reports that the stolen items from that robbery included a wallet and a handbag holding approximately $4,000 in cash, with the total property taken in that single incident valued at nearly $67,900.
Firearm Displayed, Necklace Ripped Off in Third Incident
Four days later, at 3:50 a.m. on August 19, two unidentified individuals approached a 26-year-old man in front of 82-14 155 Avenue. The victim was sideswiped by someone driving a dark-colored BMW, and the suspects made verbal threats and displayed a firearm before forcibly removing his necklace, according to NYPD Crime Stoppers. The pair then fled the scene in the same dark-colored BMW, police said.
The tactic described across all three incidents — deliberately sideswiping a driver's vehicle to force them out and isolate them — matches what law enforcement agencies call a bump and rob tactic, an ambush method carjackers use to disarm and isolate motorists, per the FBI.
Investigation Spans Two Patrol Borough Commands
The three targeted locations fall within the 106th, 109th and 113th Precincts, and the pattern crosses two separate NYPD borough commands. The 109th Precinct in Flushing belongs to Patrol Borough Queens North, while the 106th Precinct in Howard Beach and the 113th Precinct in Jamaica fall under Patrol Borough Queens South, according to NYC.gov — meaning detectives from two commands must coordinate to track the suspects' movements.
It remains unclear whether the suspects are still active in Queens or have since changed vehicles, and whether surveillance footage or automatic license plate readers have picked up the stolen BMW, plate HKD7084, since the August 19 incident. Those questions remain open as the investigation continues.
Potential Charges Suspects Could Face
If armed with a firearm during a forcible theft, as alleged in all three incidents, suspects could face Robbery in the First Degree under New York Penal Law § 160.15, a Class B violent felony punishable by 5 to 25 years in state prison, according to the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates.
Recurring Pattern in Queens Robbery Cases
This is not the first time NYPD Crime Stoppers has sought help identifying suspects in a multi-precinct Queens robbery pattern. Hoodline reported in April that investigators were hunting a knife-wielding scooter bandit across the 108th and 115th Precincts in western Queens, and in July, Hoodline covered an appeal for two suspects tied to a robbery pattern spanning both Brooklyn and Queens. The 113th Precinct in Jamaica, one of the commands involved in this latest spree, previously issued advisories warning residents about auto-related key fob thefts and street robberies targeting luxury goods and jewelry.
Anyone with information is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS or submit a tip on X at @NYPDTips. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3,500 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case.
