Tribeca Citizen reported that two vehicles were targeted on North Moore Street and recovered within minutes. Brokers Andrew Azoulay and Eliot Stern had taken a client’s Mercedes G-Wagon out near 1 North Moore Street and left it on the street with its key inside; Azoulay’s Mercedes SUV was also nearby with its key inside. Tribeca Citizen valued the G-Wagon at $300,000, while the New York Post put its value at $250,000.
Police response and charges
Tribeca Citizen reported that officers intercepted two youths at Canal Street within minutes and that one 14-year-old was charged with grand larceny auto. The New York Post separately reported the arrest of a 14-year-old boy, who it said was charged with grand larceny auto and criminal possession of stolen property. The accounts differ in the details they provide about the second vehicle and the youths’ roles.
In an interview with the New York Post, Azoulay said the precinct was outside in five minutes and caught the youths in 10. He acknowledged that leaving the car unlocked with the key inside was unwise and said he would lock it in the future. These estimates and remarks come from the Post’s interview.
Local and citywide auto-theft figures
For the district, Tribeca Citizen reported 17 auto-theft charges in 2025, compared with 11 in 2024. The outlet also cited a January incident in which a woman was forced out of her car at Broadway and Reade.
Citywide figures offer a different measure of the problem. Gothamist reported that police solved 13% of reported car thefts in the first quarter of 2026, while auto theft was down more than 11% citywide for the year, according to NYPD statistics. NY1 reported auto theft down 0.2% in October and 11.2% year to date through the first 10 months of 2026.
Gothamist also reported on a citywide car-theft crew that stole more than $1 million in vehicles, rims and catalytic converters over two years; prosecutors charged 16 people in April in a case called operation pit crew. The outlet said an NYPD spokesperson described some sophisticated crews as wearing masks, gloves and hoods to evade cameras and facial-recognition technology.
A separate pattern involving Hyundai and Kia vehicles
The North Moore Street incident is distinct from a theft pattern involving certain Hyundai and Kia models. CNN reported that about 100 of those vulnerable vehicles were stolen in New York City in December alone, according to then-Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell; the reported pattern involved different models and circumstances.
The suspect’s court track is unclear
Prevention and possible youth-case pathways
The NYPD’s auto-theft guidance advises drivers to turn off the ignition, take the keys and lock their vehicles whenever they leave them, according to the NYPD. For juvenile-delinquency cases generally, New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services says a probation officer may adjust a case by monitoring a child at home for up to 60 days; if the child follows the conditions, the case can end without Family Court involvement. ACS also says some 13-, 14- or 15-year-olds who have committed a very serious felony may be tried as Juvenile Offenders in Supreme Court. These general options do not determine which pathway, if any, applies here.
The available reporting does not say which legal track will apply to the 14-year-old. The New York State Unified Court System describes juvenile-delinquency proceedings as confidential and says juvenile delinquents do not accumulate criminal records. The reports do not establish whether the juvenile-offender category applies in this case.
