Man Escapes NYPD Custody In East Harlem: Police

EAST HARLEM, NY — An alleged shoplifter is on the run after escaping police custody in East Harlem this weekend, police told Patch.

The slippery suspect was briefly arrested Saturday afternoon near a Duane Reade on the corner of Madison Avenue and East 102nd Street, police said. The man had allegedly been caught shoplifting from the pharmacy and was being brought in for petit larceny, police said.

While police were putting the man inside a cop car, he managed to break free on outrun officers by fleeing east on East 102nd Street, police said. The man was cuffed when he broke free, police said.

The man is described as standing 5-foot-11 with a thin build and medium complexion, police told Patch. At the time of his escape the alleged shoplifter was wearing an olive green waist length jacket, green hoodie, gray sweat pants and a black V-neck shirt, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

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