A group of approximately 15 migrants targeted a Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan, attempting to steal a collection of high-end designer sunglasses valued at $5,300.
The incident occurred just before 6:30 p.m. at the prominent Midtown store on Saturday, January 6th.
The suspects, involved in what appears to be a coordinated theft, swiftly gathered over a dozen pairs of luxury sunglasses from brands such as Versace, Dior, and Prada.
A vigilant police officer stationed at Bloomingdale’s managed to apprehend one of the migrants while the others successfully fled the scene, law enforcement sources told the NY Post.
The arrested suspect, identified as 23-year-old Stiven Matos, faces charges including robbery, criminal possession of stolen property, possession of burglar tools, and resisting arrest.
Law enforcement officials recovered 10 pairs of Versace sunglasses, two pairs of Prada, and one pair from Christian Dior.
Whether the rest of the migrants escaped with any additional merchandise was unclear.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, in his first media briefing of 2024, admitted his administration was aware of the involvement of illegal immigrants in criminal activities in the city.
Adams acknowledged a rise in auto thefts, specifically grand larceny autos (GLAs), which he connected to the city’s increasing population of undocumented migrants.
Responding to inquiries about the involvement of migrants in criminal activities within the city, Mayor Adams stated, “Do I believe that there are some migrants who are committing crimes in the city? Yes. Yes. There are people who are committing crimes in all walks of life.”
Adams emphasized that the increase in GLAs wasn’t solely attributable to migrants. “It’s not just migrants and asylum seekers…But are there some crimes that migrants have committed? Yes, there are,” he said.
When pressed for data to substantiate his claims, Adams referred to a specific “robbery pattern” identified by the police.
“There was a robbery pattern…and there were some migrants who participated in that robbery pattern,” he explained, clarifying that not all such patterns in the city are linked to migrants.
