Flash Mobs Steal Nearly $40 Grand Worth of Sunglasses

Mob Steals Thousands Worth of Sunglasses from Mall in Queens

The NYPD is searching for members of a flash mob that stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of sunglasses at a Queens Mall. -Photo by NYPD

By Dan Gesslein 

Queens Voice

February 15, 2024

QUEENS - A flash mob that hit a Queens mall twice made of with nearly $40,000 in sunglasses when they robbed displays of glasses, the NYPD said.

Cops said the same crew struck at the same mall within weeks of each other last month. At around 7 pm on January 8, a group of black clad robbers walked into a mall on Roosevelt Avenue. The group went to the Sunglass Hut and removed displays of sunglasses, cops said. The group then ran out of the mall.

Cops said the stolen merchandise is valued at $16,780.

Investigators said the same crew struck the same mall two weeks later. At around 4:20 pm on January 20, the crew walked into the Sunglass Hut and removed displays of sunglasses again, cops said.

The crew ran out of the mall but not before their images were captured on surveillance video.

Cops said the merchandise stolen is valued at $23,958.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips. 

All calls are strictly confidential.