A 31-year-old man was approached by two strangers in a vehicle near the corner of 114th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona early on Sunday, August 16, at around 4:05 a.m., before the pair got out, punched him, and made off with his wallet and cellphone. One of the individuals displayed a firearm during the encounter, and the two fled eastbound on Roosevelt Avenue toward parts unknown, according to police.
The account comes from NYPD Crime Stoppers, which says the two unidentified individuals first engaged the victim in conversation before exiting their vehicle and attacking him. During the robbery, the pair forcibly removed the victim's wallet — which contained identification cards and a debit card — along with his cellphone, per the same post. The NYPD has requested information from the public about the robbery, which occurred within the confines of the 110th Precinct.
A Precinct Already Watching Roosevelt Avenue Closely
The robbery happened in territory patrolled by the 110th Precinct, headquartered at 94-41 43rd Avenue in Elmhurst under Commanding Officer Deputy Inspector Tony Wong, according to the NYPD. Roosevelt Avenue is one of three primary commercial corridors in the precinct, alongside Broadway and Queens Boulevard, running beneath the elevated 7 train through Corona and Elmhurst — a stretch with heavy transit traffic and late-night commercial activity, per the department's own precinct profile. The precinct also runs specialized Quality of Life Teams and Crime Prevention officers focused on safety concerns along corridors like Roosevelt Avenue, though it's unclear whether those units were involved in this case.
The pre-dawn timing fits a broader pattern. A threat intelligence analysis of 110th Precinct crime data found that 26.7% of reported crimes in the precinct occur between midnight and 6 a.m., according to Base Operations. This robbery, at 4:05 a.m., lands squarely within that overnight window.
Part of a Wider String of Queens Street Robberies
This isn't the first violent early-morning robbery to hit the area this year. In July, three suspects stabbed a store worker during a 2:20 a.m. robbery on 108th Street in Corona, also within the 110th Precinct, as Hoodline previously reported. Roosevelt Avenue itself has seen repeated robbery activity this year, including an armed street robbery of a cellphone and an attempted robbery that NYPD sought a suspect for in March.
In August, NYPD investigators also issued public appeals seeking suspects in a string of Queens drive-up vehicle bumps and robberies targeting drivers, according to a report on 1010 WINS. It remains unknown whether the two suspects in this Roosevelt Avenue robbery were connected to that broader vehicle-assisted pattern, or whether surveillance cameras along the corridor captured the getaway vehicle's plate as it fled east.
Potential Charges If Suspects Are Caught
Under New York Penal Law § 160.15, forcibly stealing property while displaying what appears to be a firearm is classified as first-degree robbery, a Class B violent felony carrying a mandatory prison sentence upon conviction, according to FindLaw. Because two people allegedly acted together in the attack, prosecutors could also pursue second-degree robbery charges under Penal Law § 160.10, a Class C violent felony that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 3.5 years, per the same legal reference.
Citywide, robbery complaints have actually fallen 12.0% year-to-date through August 30 compared to the same period last year, dropping from 10,068 to 8,863 reported incidents, according to NYPD CompStat data posted on NYC.gov. Whether that citywide dip extends to the 110th Precinct's overnight corridors remains an open question, given the string of recent violent incidents in Corona and Elmhurst.
How to Submit a Tip
Anyone with information is asked to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS, or in Spanish at 1-888-57-PISTA, both of which offer anonymous tip submissions. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website or via direct message on X to @NYPDTips. Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $3,500 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case.
