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House admitted to his role in a robbery crew that took down dozens of establishments in Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens – including this Dunkin Donuts on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach.
By Michael V. Cusenza
A Hempstead, L.I. man recently pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit armed robberies in connection with 40 knife-point robberies – including a dozen in Queens – that he and his co-conspirators committed between Feb. 9, 2015 and June 7, 2016, according to U.S. Attorney Robert Capers.
As part of the plea, Khalif House, 24, admitted his role in each of the robberies, which also occurred in Nassau and Suffolk counties, including at Carvel, Dunkin Donuts, Subway and 7-Eleven stores.
On almost every occasion, Capers noted, House robbed stores wearing mismatched gloves, with his face covered, while brandishing a knife. During one of the robberies, House chased down a fleeing employee, dragging her back into the premises to prevent her escape. On another occasion, in order to avoid apprehension, House cut an employee, who attempted to disarm him during a robbery.
In May of this year, House robbed at least three borough eateries. On May 25, around 11:55 p.m., he entered the Dunkin Donuts on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach, proceeded to display a knife, and removed the cash register drawer which contained $776 in cash, cops said.
Just two days before that incident, House entered a Dunkin Donuts on 45th Avenue in Flushing around 11:30 p.m., threatened an employee with a knife and demanded that that employee pop open two cash registers. Cops said the victim complied, and House fled the scene with approximately $600 in cash.
And on Wednesday, May 11, around 9:50 p.m., police said House walked into a Carvel on Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills and displayed a knife to the employee inside the ice cream shop. He ordered the employee to open the cash register, and then fled the scene with the register till, which contained $500 in cash.
House was ultimately arrested in Floral Park, on June 8, 2016, following the attempted robbery of a Dollar Tree store in College Point.
When the Floral Park Police located House, he was hiding in a stranger’s van, and in possession of, among other things, mismatched gloves.
“The defendant engaged in a widespread and dangerous pattern of knife-point commercial robberies, which terrorized the communities and jeopardized the safety of the employees of more than three-dozen local businesses,” Capers said. “As a result of the diligent work and collaboration of federal and local law enforcement authorities, the defendant will now be held accountable for his actions.”
According to Capers, House’s arrest and conviction were the result of a joint investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Long Island Gang Task Force, the Nassau County Police Department, the New York City Police Department, and the Suffolk County Police Department.
When sentenced, House will face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, Capers noted.
