A 35-year-old delivery worker was in the middle of dropping off a package inside a Richmond Hill apartment building last month when a stranger struck up a conversation with him — then grabbed the parcel right out of his hands and took off running. The theft happened just before 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19, inside 109-10 Park Lane South, according to police.
The suspect approached the victim, engaged him in conversation, then removed the package from his hands before fleeing on foot eastbound on Park Lane South, according to NYPD Crime Stoppers
, which has classified the case as a grand larceny and is asking the public for help identifying the person responsible. The suspect's whereabouts remain unknown, and no arrest has been announced.
109-10 Park Lane South is a six-story, 77-unit residential rental building constructed in 1929 along the northern edge of Forest Park, according to StreetEasy. Its location along the park's perimeter offers quick foot routes into the surrounding neighborhood, a layout that could complicate efforts to track the suspect's path after the theft.
Why a Simple Snatch Becomes a Felony
Even though the stolen package's value hasn't been disclosed, the manner in which it was taken carries serious legal weight. Under New York Penal Law § 155.30(5), taking property directly from a person's hands constitutes grand larceny in the fourth degree, a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in state prison, regardless of what the item was worth, according to FindLaw's breakdown of the statute.
That distinction matters because most package theft cases New Yorkers hear about — parcels swiped off a stoop or lobby floor — fall under a different, lighter standard. Under Penal Law § 155.25, theft without direct physical contact is typically charged as petit larceny, a Class A misdemeanor, unless the merchandise is worth more than $1,000, per Saland Law's comparison of the two statutes. Because this suspect engaged the victim directly and pulled the package from his grip, those circumstances may affect how prosecutors evaluate the alleged theft.
Case Falls Under the 102nd Precinct
The address falls within the NYPD's 102nd Precinct, which patrols a stretch of central Queens covering Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, Richmond Hill East, Woodhaven, and northern Ozone Park, according to the NYPD. The precinct's headquarters sits at 87-34 118th Street in Richmond Hill.
The precinct's territory has also been the site of other recent incidents, including a six-incident bike-riding robbery spree involving approximately $5,900 in stolen cash and property that occurred primarily in South Ozone Park and South Richmond Hill within the NYPD's 106th Precinct, detailed in a bike-riding robbery spree.
Reward Offered for Tips
NYPD Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3,500 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. Payout requires that a tip lead to both an arrest and a formal court indictment.
Anyone with information can call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), reach the Spanish-language line at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), submit a tip online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or message the @NYPDTips account on X. All tips can be submitted anonymously.
Part of a Larger Pattern Targeting Couriers
This is not an isolated concern for delivery workers in New York City. Just a day earlier, NYPD Crime Stoppers put out a separate appeal for four suspects wanted in a series of robberies targeting delivery drivers in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, a case Hoodline covered in its report on the Wakefield delivery driver robberies.
This is not an isolated concern for delivery workers in New York City. Residents of apartment complexes and multi-family buildings — like the one on Park Lane South — face package-theft concerns, as do those in single-family homes. The incident also reflects broader concerns about package theft in New York City and nationally.
The incident also arrives amid growing regulatory attention on courier safety in New York. Expanded city rules that took effect January 26, 2026, added mandates for weekly pay transparency, upfront tipping, and guaranteed restroom access for app-based delivery workers, according to an analysis from Proskauer Rose LLP. At the state level, delivery-worker safety and algorithmic practices have also drawn attention.
It remains unclear whether the delivery worker in this case was employed by a commercial carrier or an app-based delivery service, and police have not said whether surveillance footage from inside the 77-unit building has helped identify a suspect. For now, investigators are relying on the public for leads as they work to track down whoever ran off with the package on Park Lane South.
