Oct. 15, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
Police have released shocking footage of a man being dragged and beaten on a Middle Village sidewalk Thursday, before being robbed of $17,000 in cash.
The video, released Saturday, shows the 66-year-old victim lying on his back and clinching a bag while a suspect is trying to grab it from him outside 62-58 71st St. at around 1:20 p.m.
As the struggle unfolds, the suspect lugs the man along the sidewalk as the victim desperately holds onto his bag.
The assailant then appears to stomp on the victim’s head before pulling him along the pavement again.
At this point, the victim can be heard desperately screaming out for help.
As the 66-year-old keeps yelling, the suspect punches him several times in the head before the victim eventually lets go of the bag.
The suspect then runs away from the scene with the bag which contained $17,000 cash, according to police.
The thief then jumped into a maroon-colored Ford Fusion which was being driven by a second suspect. The getaway vehicle was last seen heading toward Eliot Avenue, cops said.
The victim suffered minor injuries and was treated by EMS at the scene, police said.
It is unclear how the two suspects knew the victim was carrying such a large quantity of cash at the time.
Police said the victim had initially been walking towards Juniper Valley Road when the suspect pushed him from behind and began attacking him.
Police also released images of the suspects taken before the incident. The alleged perpetrators were seen inside Artis Drug and Surgical Supplies, located at 80-02 Eliot Ave.
Both suspects are described as having medium complexions and medium builds.
The suspect who allegedly attacked the 66-year-old man has dark hair and was last seen wearing a dark-colored hooded jacket, a multi-colored Tommy Hilfiger sweatpants, white sneakers, glasses, and a blue and white North Face baseball cap.
The driver of the Ford was last seen wearing a dark-colored jacket, dark-colored sweatpants, grey sneakers and a blue Houston Astros baseball cap.
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 Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.