Man stole over $10K in lottery tickets in Manhattan

The NYPD is searching for a robber who they say stole over $10,000 of lottery scratch-off tickets from two different stores last week.

According to authorities, just before 8 p.m. on January 15, the man entered a deli on Lexington Avenue near East 93rd Street and asked for a free soda. 

When the employee denied him, the man demanded lottery scratch-off tickets and threatened to attack the worker.  He ran away with $1,420 worth of lottery scratch-off tickets.

RELATED: Bronx bodega owners chaining up merchandise to deter thieves

Then, on January 20 just after 11 a.m., the same man entered a grocery store on Eighth Avenue and stole six boxes of tickets, valued at $9,000, off of a shelf, the NYPD says.

Police have released surveillance photos of the suspect.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

Police say all calls are confidential.