NYPD Searching For Suspects Who Stole $9,700 In Lottery Tickets

BROOKLYN, NY ­– The New York City Police Department is asking for public assistance in searching for five suspects that police say broke into a Manhattan deli, stole $9,700 in New York lottery scratch-off tickets and then attempted to cash them in three different Brooklyn stores the next day.

The suspects, who were captured on surveillance cameras in Brooklyn, forcibly entered Thompson Finest Deli at 20 Thompson Street through the door and window at 1:30 a.m. on June 1. The robbery took place on the second night of widespread looting around New York City following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and on the first night of an 11 p.m. city curfew that was instituted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

As looting continued, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that because of continued looting, he was ordering New Yorkers off of city streets at 8 p.m.

Following the robbery, the five suspects attempted to cash the tickets in on between 10:15 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. on June 2 at various locations in Brooklyn including Shop Fair at 187 Troy Ave., Bravo Supermarket at 1299 Fulton St. and Pacific Liquor at 1647 Pacific St.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Individuals may also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are confidential.