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Subscribe to RSSThe New York Police Department are searching for a suspect who torched a string of cars on different streets in Harlem. No motive has been released. WNBC's Tracie Strahan reports.
Police are looking for a suspect who set 15 vehicles on fire in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, leaving charred hoods and shattered windshield glass in nearly a dozen locations.
All the vehicles were torched within five hours on Tuesday, each on a different street. The first car was set on fire at 1:45 a.m., the last at 6:35 a.m.
For more, visit NBCNewYork.com
Frank Silvestri was mostly concerned about parking on the right side of the street when he left his rented Mustang convertible on Bradhurst Avenue.
"I get up to go get coffee and have a little breakfast ... and this is what I see," Silvestri said, pointing to the charred remains of his vehicle.
Detectives say the arson victims appear to have been chosen at random. Residents say similar crimes have happened in their neighborhood before.
A witness told fire marshals he saw a man wearing a yellow hood with plastic bags on his hands. He was allegedly spotted lighting paper on fire before placing it under one of the burned vehicles.
Police released surveillance video of the suspect.
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You've got your facts wrong. As someone who was woken up at 4:10 a.m. yesterday morning while a fire blazed outside of my window, I think you mean the fires occurred between the hours of 1:45 a.m. and 6:35 a.m.
Please fact check next time.
facts? nbc? bawhahahahahaha.....
sorry never the two shall meet..........:)
Oi, next time I see someone with plastic bags on their hands I'm going to assume the worst.
Thanks for fixing NBC!
a yellow hood or a yellow hoodie?
saw a man...
could see well enough to tell it was a man but couldn't distinguish any other features such as big/little nose, hair colour, or even skin colour/race? Or is this another of NBCSnooze's method of only identifying the majority race when committing crimes?
Here's another possibly?
Check out all the owners of these cars and see if any of them have been having problems making there car payments as of late? Its possible someones trying to cover up a insurance scam or fraud. Only need to check out the ones who had full coverage on there autos so it wouldn't take much to look at this angle.
You'd be surprised to what lengths people will go to file false or misleading insurance claims, I've heard most of the stories from insurance adjusters who come to check out the cars after I had towed them in after the fire, theft etc.
Sure hope whoever did this is not only caught but has to somehow down the road of life has to pay back everyone for the damages they caused.
Why do this? /sigh
Watching TBS movies that shows "Goodfellas" lately. Monkey see monkey do.........
I bet this turns out to be some type of insurance fraud. Possibly, one of the car owners is trying to get his car paid off and thought torching a few other cars might look less suspicious. We'll see.
Yeah great call. Especially the guy who rented his car. Idiotic comment.
gee who is their rep? bet he will get this taken care of post haste. after all he was re-elected, he must be doing a bang up job...................:)
Who is whose rep? What sort of rep would investigate and apprehend an arsonist? Did you take your meds this morning?
uhdunno
so a city rep has no input on his district? or on the local P.D.?......perhaps that explains things........
Sorry guys this just wont cut it, your going to have to put in alot more effort to catch up with Chicago. and with no school there they really have a leg up on ya................:)
And you constantly sharing your keyboard snot is doing something useful?
Whats the point? If they catch him he should be doing community service for the rest of his stupid life.
"IF" being the key word......................:)
Then post a video of your report which DOES NOT contain the surveillance video of the suspect?
Thanks for fixing that.
You gotta love the Ghettos called cities.
Now that's just racist.
As there were 15 separate cars that were burned in a short period of time, in Harlem, I have a hard time believing that these incidents were independently random occurrences. Person/s involved are making a statement! [:-(]
Then enlighten me (no pun intended), but what is their statement?
The translation from the teletype through a guy in Bangladesh posting it on the web is why NBC has so many problems with their articles.
Bangladesh ? Maybe Karachi ? Or Moscow?
I know parking in NYC is a real problem...
But this is a little EXTREME to get a spot opened up.
And NYPD has problems finding murderers, do you really believe they'll look for this person?
The monetary value of most of those cars far exceeds the price placed on "common people" in NY City, espcially if it is a Lexus owned by a trader/banker.
To be honest, whoever did this should really hope that the police find him/her first.
If any of those burned cars, and I feel confident in saying a few might be, were the property of a local drug dealer(s), the police will be much nicer than the alternative. Healthier too!!!
This is from 5/2011 but still you have to wonder who, in Harlem, can afford $30,000 a plate other than thugs and drug lords.
"As President Barack Obama prepares to visit Harlem Tuesday night for a $30,000 per plate fund raiser".
I used to live in Harlem for a little bit. I saw a couple celebrities around here and there. There's some nice buildings up there for sure, although they are definitely the exception. Also, Clinton's offices are up there...
totherepublic
Actually, Harlem, while still largely poor, even poverty stricken, has seen a great deal of "gentrification" in the last 20 or so years.
There has been a large influx of powerful money and people. Brownstones in the area can command prices in the very high six or low seven figures. A large number of (likely former now) Wall Street brokers and money managers moved there.
Granted, the crime there is still high, disporportionatley so compared to the rest of Manhattan, but it is not as bad as it was. Hell, I could even walk through the area back in the 70's and 80's and be left alone.. at least during the day. Night time, I made sure I was long gone.
But you ARE correct. Who in ANY area can afford a $30,000 a plate fundraiser?
I know the answer. The very same people that also go to the Republican fund raisers to hedge their bets!! They just do it on different nights!!
That wasn't an open dinner for locals Einstein.
And somehow it did not occur to the witness to call the police?
A guy wearing a yellow hood with plastic bags on his hands lighting paper on fire and sticking it under a car, hmmmm.....should I or should I NOT call the po po?
Looks like some people missed their payments to ole Charlie Rangel.
Black on black crimes are my favorite. What a way to "help your brother out"....Must be George Bush's fault.
Bigot.
...
I'd believe Watts or Rawanda but not Harlem.
Doesn't Bill Clinton have an office there??
Isn't that Charlie Rangel's district.
...
well, look on the bright side, at least it may slow down the drive-bys?????
Plastic bags would melt and burn like napalm if they catch fire. 2012 has certainly been a odd year so far. Maybe the burner lost hope there will be another federal stimulus and his stock won't go up.
Blacks and Muslim's the scourge of this country
...
Put the two together and you get a mulatto.
...
LMFAO....
I'm sure the kid was a good kid, an A/B student, never ever in trouble, best kid in the history of kids.....Like Trayvon Martin.
Sounds like an upstanding citizen if you ask me....
Trevor Martin started out in the press as an upstanding citizen from the liberal press, and then we found out about his rap sheet and the punk he actually was.
Better check out every cars owner, to see if it's a "Chicago Tylenol murder" style plan in action.
(but now is considered unsolved as it may been just random)
Though in Harlem, I would guess nearly all of them are having problem keeping up with car payment.
So that makes it nearly impossible to find the insider (if any).
So, you can't sleep, are up at 1:45 a.m. and are bored with the infomercials, so you decide to go out and set fire to random vehicles. What then? Do you sleep better afterward? Here's a suggestion for ya - try Sominex!
I never would have guessed it would be a person with a hoodie. What a surprise.
Maybe time to raise the price of gas in Harlem!
The perp must be talented, after all lighting cars on fire with one hand and holding up your baggy azz jeans with the other takes some skill....