The NYPD said they are looking for an unusual robbery suspect who has struck nearly a dozen times in Brooklyn and Queens — with how he picks his victims and how the robberies go down certainly being atypical.
The suspect is known as the “Haggler After Midnight,” based on the time he strikes, according to the NYPD. He carries a knife and rides a black and blue scooter, looking for men walking alone.
“He’s got a strange M.O.: He often haggles with his victims, so we call him the ‘Haggler After Midnight.’ That’s how he likes to strike,” said NYPD Deputy Chief John Mastronardi. “So often times, if the victim produces property they’re gonna give up, he often says ‘No no no, I don’t want that, I want that.’ So he will choose.”
He is wanted for at least 11 robberies in Brooklyn and Queens, and is particular when it comes to his targets.
“All the victims are Hispanic males,” Mastronardi said.
Police told NBC New York that all the victims were walking alone, returning home after their work shift. In one case, the robber sized up his victim by asking where he worked.
“He asked if he was a construction worker, which we find very odd,” said Mastronardi, noting that the robberies are getting more aggressive.
“In the last incident, the male approached one of our victims and put a knife to his throat removing his property…more brazen, more bold, more violent,” Mastronardi said. “The emotional trauma, the fear that it creates and just innocent individuals going home from work being targeted.”
Detectives in the NYPD’s Crimes Against Persons Unit says the robber negotiates with his victims in English and Spanish, and then attacks.
Mastronardi said the suspect targets Hispanic men between the age of 20-40 who are walking by themselves after midnight. The so-called “Haggler” is said to be after cash and electronics.
A reward is being offered for any information leading to an arrest.
