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Teenage Car Thieves in NYC Are Targeting Chinese Food Delivery Guys

In Queens, thieves have been stealing Chinese food delivery drivers’ cars while they make the short jaunt from their cars to front doors to drop off the goods. They must be stopped!
Foto von Sarah Ross via Flickr

Despite the current horrors of the world that cable news and a certain presidential candidate love to fixate upon, we've still got it pretty good. With the press of a button—or a phone call, if you're old-school—we can have nearly whatever food you so desire delivered to the front door in under an hour. This may not have been the vision FDR dreamed of when he promised Americans that the best days were still ahead, but it's damn impressive nonetheless.

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But pernicious thieves are putting cracks in the dream we've worked so hard to achieve. In the New York City borough of Queens, thieves have been stealing Chinese food delivery drivers' cars while they make the short jaunt from their cars to front doors to drop off the goods. They must be stopped!

Police are on the lookout for two suspects whom they are tied to a string of delivery-dude car thefts dating back to June 8. On that fateful night, a 2002 Honda Accord was stolen around 10 PM while the driver was delivering delicious food to some eager homebodies. Half an hour later, the car was recovered with a 13-year-old passenger inside, who was subsequently arrested for grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. The other two men who the cops are now looking for had already made off.

READ MORE: Delivering Pizza Is One of the Most Dangerous Jobs in America

There are a few constants in the subsequent ongoing string of eight thefts. The first is that all the cars belong to Chinese delivery guys, and the second is that every time someone gets busted, the person isn't of legal driving age, which is sort of odd for grand theft auto.

A Toyota Rav4 stolen on June 29 was recovered six days later with a 13-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy inside. When cops pulled over a car for failing to signal at an intersection on July 17 and the car turned out to have been stolen from a delivery man, the driver was a 15-year-old girl. On that occasion, two other suspects fled the scene, and if it's the same guys from the June 8 theft, it's time their underage friends who join them on their carjacking outings realize that these bozos tend to bolt at the first sign of trouble and leave you to take the fall.

The police have released photos of the two suspects, both of whom are still on the loose and, apparently, still terrorizing Chinese delivery guys. Just a few days ago on July 26, three people stole a 1999 Nissan Altima while the driver was dropping off grub.

READ MORE: I Got High, Blown, and Robbed When I Was a Pizza Delivery Guy

If there was ever a time to do your civic duty and report any relevant information to the authorities, this is it—your chow mein may depend on it.