NEW YORK, NY – The arrest of a suspect in a 2022 Queens tobacco shop robbery was aided by his distinctive underwear and social media presence. An anonymous tipster provided the suspect’s Instagram handle to the police, linking him to the brightly colored briefs observed in the robbery footage.
The tipster also informed authorities that the robbers had attempted to sell the stolen items at another location in Queens. Detectives scrutinized video footage from this second location and identified the man in the colorful underwear, who was unmasked in this instance.
Police established the suspect’s identity through a combination of his Instagram account, video evidence from the merchandise sale, and photos from prior arrests. The 30-year-old suspect was apprehended at his Queens residence on Wednesday morning by a joint task force of the New York Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. He is currently awaiting arraignment in federal court in Brooklyn, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office.