By Courtney Dentch
Anthony Ryans, 37, of 163-35 130th Ave. in Jamaica and two Long Island men were captured March 29, just hours after they allegedly walked into a Radio Shack in Oakdale and shot a partially paralyzed worker who was standing behind the counter and talking with a customer, said Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick, commander of the Suffolk homicide unit.
The botched robbery was the latest in a series of robberies at Radio Shack stores that started in October, which the three reportedly planned when they met behind prison bars, Suffolk police said. The trio have also been linked to thefts at two of the electronic chain's Queens locations in December, although details on which stores were hit were unavailable.
Ryans, who has 13 convictions, including an attempted murder charge when he shot a Queens police officer in 1988, met Gregory Felder and Ben Kelley in Attica penitentiary in upstate New York, a spokesman for the Suffolk County Police Department said. It was there they allegedly began planning to hit electronic stores, wearing masks and wielding guns, just before closing time, the spokesman said.
But when they entered the Oakdale store March 29, one of the men – it is unclear who – allegedly shot and killed Christopher Gilardi, 30, a Lake Ronkonkoma man who had no use of his right arm and limped severely due to a childhood car accident, police said.
The three ran but were arrested when they lost control of their car after a 6-mile police chase, police said. They were arraigned in Suffolk County Court March 31 and remanded without bail, a spokeswoman for the Suffolk County district attorney said.
Ryans, Felder and Kelley may also be the team behind robberies at two Queens Radio Shack stores. Details on the robberies were unavailable, but a spokesman for the New York Police Department said detectives were investigating the possible connection.
Two store robberies in Nassau County have also been tied to Ryans and his cohorts, Nassau police said.
Charges in Queens and Nassau counties may have to wait until the Suffolk County charges are resolved, the city police spokesman said.
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
