On February 11 at around 4:30 p.m., Keigo Matsushita used a bicycle to approach a woman, 68, walking home on a road in the Nishi-Ochiai area of Shinjuku Ward and snatch two bags containing a total of around 24,000 yen.
Matsushita, who has been charged with theft, denies the charges, telling the Totsuka Police Station he “does not recall” the incident.
The suspect, who stands 185 centimeters in height, became a person of interest after an examination of security camera footage revealed the perpetrator to be noticeably tall.
According to police, Matsushita is under investigation in about 10 similar robberies involving a perpetrator on a bicycle in other wards, including Kita and Itabashi, that targeted women since November. The Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 23) reports the value of lost property in the to be around 750,000 yen in the cases.
