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5 from SE Queens charged in string of bank robberies


Five suspects were taken into custody by the Queens Robbery Squad and 106th Precinct…

By Alex Davidson

Police in the 106th Precinct in South Ozone Park have arrested seven suspects in connection with two separate strings of bank robberies that occurred in June and July.

Five suspects were taken into custody by the Queens Robbery Squad and 106th Precinct Anti-crime Unit Monday and charged with robbery in a pattern which, according to police, targeted nine Queens banks in five police precincts in the borough.

Authorities arrested Jonel Rainey, 19, of 153-20 119th Rd., Zlandineralain Acre, 18, of 150-29 122nd Ave., and Michael Morrison, 33, of 150-28 122nd Ave., all of South Jamaica, as well as Jennifer Adkins, 18, of 146-10 228th St. in Brookville and Onijah Beasley, 18, of 114-52 197th St. in St. Albans.

The five suspects are alleged to have been involved in a string of nine robberies that took place from June 29 through July 3. Four of the robberies were in the 106th Precinct in South Ozone Park, two in the 113th Precinct in South Jamaica, one in 103rd in Jamaica, one in the 102nd in Richmond Hill, and one in the 107th in Fresh Meadows, police said.

Cops also arrested two other men July 2 and charged them with robbery in connection with a series of city robberies, two of which occurred in South Richmond Hill and Howard Beach.

Police nabbed two suspects, Victor Nunez, 47, of 875 Pennsylvania Ave. in Brooklyn, and John Ball, 38, of 717 Homes St. in Elmont, L.I. The duo is alleged to have stolen $2,500 from a North Fork Bank at 114-19 Liberty Ave. and $1,377 from another North Fork Bank at 155-14 Cross Bay Blvd.

The pair, charged by police with robbery, was taken into custody following an investigation of a bank robbery June 28 in Brooklyn.

“We are not yet sure if the money was recovered,” a spokeswoman for the Police Department said. “We do not have that information.”

Cops initiated their investigation into the chain of robberies following the June 28 incident, in which one suspect allegedly entered a Washington Mutual Bank at 726 Grand Ave., passed a note to a teller and then escaped with $2,200.

Police said they later found the suspect’s getaway car, a Toyota Camry, at a nearby cross section. No weapons were recovered from any of the crime scenes, according to police.

The two men also are alleged to have taken $600 from a Chase bank at 1987 Flatbush Ave. June 23 in Brooklyn, police said.

The number of robberies in the 106th Precinct compared with this time last year has declined by 6.3 percent, according to NYPD statistics.

The 106th Precinct covers the communities of Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach and Broad Channel.

So far this year, there have been 104 reported robberies in the precinct, while last year there were 111 by the second week of July. During the past 28 days, however, there has been a 31.5 percent increase in the number of robberies to 25 in the precinct compared with the same period in 2002, when there were 19.

The number of robberies occurring in the southern Queens precinct during the past 10 years has plummeted by 74 percent.

Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.