Nicholas Almonte
Nicholas Almonte, a 27-year-old Long Island City man, was arrested for robbery and unlawful imprisonment earlier this week after his alleged spree of carjackings.
The suspect is charged in a 10-count criminal complaint with five counts of first degree robbery, one count of first-degree attempted robbery, three counts of second-degree robbery and one count of unlawful imprisonment.
Starting approximately 9:35 a.m. on May 8, , Almonte approached a black Mercedes driven by a 22-year-old female on Borden Avenue and displayed a gun. Authorities say he got in the car and pointed the gun at the driver. He demanded money repeatedly, threw her cell phone out of the window. He forced her to drive to Manhattan and then he got out of the car leaving the victim unharmed.
He then approached a white van driven by a 27-year-old male about 20 minutes later at 10 a.m. Initially he tried to get n on the drivers side but wound up getting n through the passenger door.
Almonte allegedly pointed a gun at the driver and demanded the driver’s cell phone. He then got out and approached a grey Lexus. Again he tried the drivers side, banging on the window with his gun while screaming threats that he was going to “blow your f––––n head off.” The driver got out of the car and Almonte got in and took off.
Authorities say then Almonte approached a girl walking her dog and demanded to know if she had a car while holding a gun to her neck. She described him as a Hispanic male wearing a fluorescent safety vest.
After that he approached a 61-year-old male about to enter his gold Mercedes at approximately 10:15 a.m. near 39 Street and 50 Avenue and pointed a gun at him and demanded that the victim give him his money and keys. It is alleged that once the victim complied with the demand, Almonte entered the Mercedes and drove away.
In one fnal incident, the suspect ran to a car driven by a 27-year-old male, poined his gun at the driver, opened the door and took about $50 from the victim before fleeing.
At the time of Almonte’s arrest, police allegedly recovered a black BB gun from him and the florescent orange construction vest he was wearing.
If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
