Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Hate Crime Unit detectives are asking members of the community for assistance in locating two men who distracted an elderly man and stole money from him in Smithtown in October.
According to authorities, on October 31st, one man followed the elderly man into Chase Bank, located at 705 Route 347, to observe him withdrawing cash from the atm. The suspect and a second man then followed the elderly man to New York Community Bank, just down the street, at approximately 11:40 a.m. One of the men created a diversion, distracting the older man, as the other man entered the victim’s vehicle to steal his money.
The suspects may be charged with a Hate Crime, if Authorities believe the theft was perpetrated by the suspect(s), targeting the victim due to race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender or gender identity. In this case, the victim’s age may have been a factor in why the suspects targeted him.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers are offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for any information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information about this crime are asked to call Crime Stoppers, anonymously at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls are kept confidential.