Purse thief knocks women to ground on Manhattan's East Side

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The DCPI has detected a robbery pattern on Manhattan's East Side, connecting two separate incidents in July in which a bike-riding thief knocked a woman down, and absconded with her purse.

The thefts occurred ten days apart, from July 15 to July 25. Police report that in the first incident, at 1:45 in the morning, the thief stole two of a 42-year-old woman's bags in front of 231 2nd Ave in the 13th Precinct. The thief biked northbound away from the scene. The woman suffered minor injuries, but refused medical attention.

Ten days later, at about 2:45 p.m. around 1st Avenue and East 40th Street in the 17th Precinct, a 39-year-old woman had her purse seized by a person riding a bicycle, causing the woman to the ground. According to police, the woman didn't sustain any injuries.

Police video from the morning of July 15 shows a man parking his bicycle near a fence in the 13th Precinct. It is currently unknown if the person in this video is the same as the thief in the second incident.

Anyone with information on either of these incidents is encouraged to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).