iPhone Snatchers Beat Crown Heights Subway Passenger: NYPD

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A thief snatched a Brooklyn subway passenger's new iPhone 11 and wailed on him when he tried to grab it back, police said.

The passenger — a 25-year-old man — was minding his own business the morning of Jan. 9 sitting inside a 5 train at the Franklin Avenue station in Crown Heights, authorities said. He had his iPhone 11, the latest Apple smartphone, in hand when a young man walked up and grabbed it, NYPD said.

The man tried to save his phone and grabbed the thief's leg, authorities said. But the phone snatcher — described as an 18- to 20-year-old man wearing a dark ski jacket — fought back, landing punches and kicks to the man's face and arms, according to police.

A second thief pulled the man off the miscreant and they ran off at the station, authorities said. The other suspected is described as a man between 16 and 20 with a gray jacket, according to police.

The scuffle left the passenger with minor injuries and without his phone.

Police ask to people with information to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or contact NYPD online.