Elderly New Yorkers Fight Off Robbers Attempting to Steal Rolex Watch

NEW YORK, NY — An 87-year-old man and his wife successfully fought off two would-be robbers attempting to steal a $48,000 Rolex watch on Wednesday morning outside a senior center in Manhattan.

Lawrence Schwartz and his wife, Joanna Cuccia, were walking towards the center on East 23rd Street around 11 a.m. when a man approached them asking for directions. Cuccia recounted, “He said, ‘I want to go to a Walmart.’ I said, ‘There are no Walmarts in Manhattan.'”

The man then indicated for her to speak with his wife, who was sitting in a nearby Jeep. Cuccia said the woman began showing her jewelry and then attempted to grab Cuccia’s own jewelry. “She wouldn’t let go. She scratched me,” Cuccia explained.

Seeing his wife in distress, Schwartz reacted quickly. The woman in the Jeep then tried to remove Schwartz’s Rolex watch and replace it with a counterfeit. “It’s a gold Rolex President, and you can see it a block away,” Schwartz said.

During the struggle, Schwartz said his boxing and self-defense training instinctively kicked in. He grabbed the woman’s arm and twisted it. “She was screaming her brains out,” he stated, describing how the incident unfolded in mere seconds.

This was the first robbery attempt Schwartz had ever faced, but he noted he had experienced earlier confrontations. “I had different run-ins with people, whether it be drunks or wise guys,” he said. He felt determined to protect his watch, recalling a previous one that had been stolen.

Despite suffering scratches and bruises, the couple managed to keep the watch, as the suspects eventually fled the scene. “They never expected two gray heads like us to put up such a fight,” Cuccia added, while Schwartz commented, “I mean, I’m stronger than most people.”

The couple is now left with the responsibility of paying for the watch’s repairs, and Schwartz expressed his frustration, saying, “I would like the police to incarcerate them,” as they look forward to justice.