By The TimesLedger
HOLLIS HILLS — A man in his mid 30s passed a note to a teller demanding cash at at the Roslyn Savings Bank at 224-04 Union Turnpike at about 1:15 p.m. last Friday, police said.
He made off with $2,290, said police.
When police arrived, they rounded up witnesses and interviewed them within the bank. Patrons were forced to go elsewhere. Although an ambulance arrived at the bank, the bank manager and police at the scene said no one was injured. Police were investigating.
Construction equipment ruptures gas line
FRESH MEADOWS — Con Edison officials rushed to the scene of a gas leak at a Utopia Parkway home Tuesday morning, while firefighters only had to cross the street to investigate the accident.
A contractor working on an extension to a house at 61-21 Utopia Parkway ruptured a gas line with a backhoe shortly after 9:30 a.m., Con Ed officials at the scene said. Engine 299, located across the street from the house, also responded to the scene. There were no injuries.
Two Israeli men detained after worrying authorities
KEW GARDENS — Police rushed to a federal office building early Friday morning after a suspicious moving truck was found illegally parked in front of the complex, police said.
Shortly after midnight Friday, police responded to a call of a Ryder truck occupied by two male “Arabs” illegally parked in front 82-02 Kew Gardens Road, police said.
The building contains offices occupied by the FBI and the Queens district attorney, causing a heightened level of alert, police said.
Upon arriving, police found the truck, unoccupied, parked on 80th Road in a restricted area reserved for members of the district attorney’s office, police said.
Two men soon returned to the vehicle and told investigators they were movers who had just arrived from Florida, police said.
The men turned out to be Israeli immigrants, police said.
Since an earlier memorandum from intelligence officials had advised police to be on the lookout for a truck coming up from Florida, the two men were taken in for questioning, police said.
After questioning by officers, including investigators from the Joint Terrorist Task Force, the two Israelis were determined to have no criminal intentions.
They were issued summonses for illegal parking and released, police said.
Botched robbery puts man in hospital
ST ALBANS — An 18-year old South Jamaica man was shot by a man he allegedly tried to rob early Feb. 13, police said.
Richard Grey was shot once in the chest and once in the shoulder by Craig Gaffney after he and Kendon Thomas, 18, also of South Jamaica, allegedly stole an undetermined amount of currency from Gaffney at his home at 115-11 180th St., according to police.
Grey was taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital in stable condition and was subsequently arrested and charged with robbery. Gaffney, 23, was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
Following an investigation Thomas was arrested and charged with robbery, second-degree assault and criminal possesion of weapon.
Girl critical after two-car collision on Jackie Robinson
KEW GARDENS — A 7-year-old Fresh Meadows girl was in critical but stable condition after her mother’s car struck a Nissan sedan on the Jackie Robinson Parkway just west of Metropolitan Avenue last week, police said.
The girl’s mother was trying to maneuver her 1986 Subaru past the 1986 Nissan when the two vehicles collided shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday, police said. The mother lost control of her vehicle and it rolled on its side and into a light post, police said.
The car’s roof was crushed, injuring the 7-year old girl, police said. She was taken to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition with serious head trauma, police said. Her mother, 40, was not as seriously injured and was taken to Jamaica Hospital in critical but stable condition, police said.
The driver of the Nissan, a 43-year-old Brooklyn woman was taken to New York Hospital Queens complaining of back and neck pain. She was listed in stable condition, police said.
No arrests were made and no criminal charges were filed in connection with the accident, police said.
Phony home care workers clean out Woodhaven woman
WOODHAVEN — Women posing as home care workers robbed $2,000 from an 82-year-old woman earlier this month, police said.
The elderly Woodhaven resident let two Hispanic women enter her home at 101-28 91st St. on Feb. 4 because she believed they were representatives of a home care outfit, police said.
The two suspects, who introduced themselves as Janet and Lisa, cleaned up the home and talked with the victim for about 30 minutes, police said. They then said they had to go clean other homes and left the victim with a phony telephone number, police said.
A week after the suspects left, the elderly victim called police after realizing that $2,000 of hers was missing. Police are investigating.
Shout-out shooter gets 20 years in Woodside brawl
WOODSIDE — A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the January 2001 attempted murder of a man during a “shout out” at a 6-year-old child’s birthday party, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Efrain Lizaide, 22, of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, was convicted in January of attempted murder in the second degree, assault and criminal possession of a weapon before Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman.
According to trial testimony, Lizaide shot a man twice with a .22 caliber gun at a table where the victim’s 5-year-old cousin and an aunt were sitting. The victim was seriously injured in the assault.
Before the shooting, the victim had asked the disc jockey at the Woodside catering hall to announce a greeting to his friends in East Lost Angeles called “Los Barios Negros.” Lizaide and an accomplice are members of a rival gang. “Los Ninos Malos,” according to law enforcement officials.
Fugitive LIC shooter to get 18 years: Judge
LONG ISLAND CITY — A 32-year-old Corona man pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter in connection with a 1998 tavern murder, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
In September 1998, Miguel Valerio, 32, shot a man in the back of the head at the men’s room of the Mad Ass Tavern at 43-06 43rd St. following an argument involving the victim’s girlfriend, the DA said. He then fled to Delaware, where he was apprehended about two years later, the DA said.
Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy indicated he would sentence Valerio to a term of 18 years in prison at a March 7 hearing.
Woodside Jewelry store robbed on Valentine’s Day
WOODSIDE — Four armed men robbed $40,000 worth of jewels from a jewelry store on Valentine’s Day, police said.
The men, armed with guns, entered Trukinning Jewelry located at 90-13 27th Ave. at 10:30 p.m., and announced a robbery, police said. They fled with the jewelry, police said.
There were no injuries or arrests, and police are investigating.
Boro sergeant suspended after domestic problem
QUEENS — A Queens Warrant Squad sergeant was suspended from duty Monday evening, police said.
Sgt. Robert Grettler was relieved of duty Monday evening because of his involvement in a domestic incident, police said. The suspension took effect at 10:30 p.m. Monday. No other details were available.
Gunmen rape girl after home break-in
JACKSON HEIGHTS — A 15-year-old girl was raped by two gunmen who forced their way into her family’s residence Monday afternoon, police said.
There were six people inside the apartment when the intruders busted in, police said. The suspects raped the 15-year old girl and then fled after stealing jewelry and a cable box, police said.
The Daily News reported the gunmen were looking for drugs and had the wrong address. No arrests were made and police were continuing with an investigation.
