Unease remains after capture of bodega robbers

The capture of four men charged with robbing at least 16 local bodegas over the past five months has not erased fear in the Ozone Park community, locals say.
The arrests, announced Wednesday, August 22 in a statement released by the office of Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, end a long and frustrating search for answers in a string of robberies committed between March 26 and August 19. Gregory Burrowes, 27, Jeremy Edwards, 20, Keon Gill, 21, and Ryan Carter, 20, face a slew of charges, including first- and second-degree robbery, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted, they could face up to 25 years in prison.
But some locals are not convinced the problem is solved. The memory of Bolivar Cruz, the bodega owner who was fatally shot during a robbery as he tried to protect his family, provides a steady reminder of the ongoing danger in the Ozone Park neighborhood. Cruz’s killers remain at large.
“You’re not safe anywhere you go,” said Sifu Gil, who lives in South Ozone Park and works on Rockaway Boulevard. “The police caught these guys, so it’s a little safer, but it’s still not safe.”
“I was scared every day when the robberies were going on,” recalled Fathl Abushar of Usef Convenience Store, 132-20 Rockaway Boulevard. “I don’t feel any safer now. I’m sure there are more criminals out there, especially in this neighborhood.”
Sentiment was not all negative, however.
“It’s good that they’ve made the arrests, but it’s only a first step,” said James, an Ozone Park native who feels police could have done a better job pursuing the criminals. “There has to be more awareness. It shouldn’t take something like a string of robberies or a murder for police to act.”
Assemblymember Michele Titus agrees that more must be done to make Ozone Park a safe place, but she also pointed out that the neighborhood has come a long way.
“Our main goal is to galvanize merchants to work with the community,” said Titus, who said she is currently conducting a study to find ways to improve Ozone Park’s commercial district. “Working together is the best way to turn the tide.”
In the 16 robberies tied to the defendants, only one, non-fatal shooting occurred. In some cases, robbers hit multiple stores in a given night, attacking a second location while police were busy responding to the first. In no case were all four men present at once; instead, some combination of the foursome did the dirty work. Burrowes is charged in 14 of the 16 cases, Edwards in eight, Gill in three and Carter in one.
Brown credited the 106th Precinct with a “diligent and tireless” pursuit.
“Store owners, and the public in general, can rest assured that these cases will be vigorously prosecuted,” Brown added.