By Michael V. Cusenza
Investigators this week reached out to the public for assistance in identifying the four members of a brazen borough armed-robbery crew that has pillaged at least four cell phone stores over the past month – including one at noon on Christmas Day.
According to the police reports, on Sunday, Nov. 20, around 12:35 p.m. two men entered a Sprint store on Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside and approached a 22-year-old female store employee. One of the men pulled out a gun and both suspects subsequently demanded cash and merchandise. The employee complied, and the men fled the store on foot northbound on 47th Street with 45 Apple iPhones and $3,500. There were no injuries.
On Saturday, Dec. 3, at approximately 5:35 p.m., two suspects walked into a T-Mobile store on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, displayed a black firearm and demanded everyone move to the rear of the establishment. The suspects removed $600 worth of store property and then fled the location on foot. When a store employee gave chase, one of the suspects turned and fired in the direction of the employee. No one was injured, cops said.
On Wednesday, Dec. 21, around 12:15 p.m., two men entered a Sprint store on Junction Boulevard in Corona. One of the unidentified suspects pulled out a handgun and forced a 29-year-old male store employee, a 21-year-old female store employee, a 43-year-old male customer, and a 30-year-old female customer to the back of the store, where the men bound them with tape. The thieves stole store merchandise and receipts, including 218 electronic devices (iPhones, iPads, Samsung phones and tablets) and $800 in cash. They also removed more than $1,100 in cash from the victims and fled in an unknown direction.
And around noon on Christmas Day, two armed men entered a MetroPCS store on Queens Boulevard in Rego Park and forced three employees, a customer and a woman (a third crewmember posing as a customer) to the back of the store. Once in the back, the woman placed cell phones inside of a bag as one of the men walked to the front of the store and removed cash from the register. A fourth suspect entered the store and stole cell phones from the displays. The man who remained in the back of the store placed his gun down and bound a 56-year-old male customer with duct tape. The three male employees (two 18-year-olds and a 21-year-old) then tackled that suspect and subdued him. The remaining members of the robbery crew then fled the store into a waiting vehicle, which sped off eastbound on Queens Boulevard. The suspect who was subdued by the employees managed to flee the store on foot in an unknown direction.
Cops said the suspects are described as:
• a black man, last seen wearing a red hoodie, black coat, and dark-colored pants
• a black man, last seen wearing a dark-colored hoodie, dark-colored pants, and yellow boots
• a black woman, last seen wearing a pink hat, a black scarf, a black coat, and black pants
• a black man with glasses, last seen wearing a dark-colored hoodie, a dark-colored jacket, and dark-colored pants
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, (888) 57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit info by logging onto NYPDCrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All correspondences are strictly confidential.
Photos Courtesy of NYPD
