By Stephen Witt By with Tom Tracy
Call him Sam the hero pizza man. The quick thinking of the Sheepshead Bay pizza maker averted a possible lethal situation Tuesday and resulted in the collar of two perpetrators in the midst of an armed robbery. The event unfolded at about 10:17 a.m., when the pizza maker, who identified himself as just “Sam”, said he looked out the window of the Bay Restorante and Pizzeria, 1420 Sheepshead Bay Road, and saw two suspicious-looking characters lurking across the street in front of the UPS store, 1421 Sheepshead Bay Road. “I saw two guys walk in and I thought they didn’t belong there for some reason. It seemed strange and I did what anybody else would do, and called 911,” recalled Sam as he stretched out pizza dough. Sam’s hunch proved right as the two perpetrators allegedly pulled a rusted machete on the UPS shopkeeper, Jerry Reingold, and an employee. However, due to the phone call and quick response, police were on the scene in minutes and the two perpetrators barricaded themselves in the shop, setting off a brief hostage situation. Workers at the Vision Center, adjoining the UPS store, said cops burst in and told them to stay in the back of the store. A couple of minutes later, cops again came into the Vision Center and told the employees to clear out. Police quickly cordoned off the block long area and members of the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit were called in with shields, helmets and rifles. Meanwhile, onlookers formed outside the yellow police line along the crowded commercial strip, located near the Sheepshead Bay Road subway station. After a tense standoff, lasting about 20 minutes, the two, seeing they were surrounded, gave themselves up and were dragged away from the scene by police. Shortly afterward, the yellow police line was removed and life returned to normal. Witnesses said that two cops literally carried robbery suspect Jacquain Crawford, 22, from the store and threw him against a car before taking him into custody. His partner, 19-year-old Kirk Myers, was brought out in handcuffs. Charges against the two men were pending as this paper went to press. Officials said that Crawford has been arrested three times over the last few years on charges of assault and grand larceny. It was unclear if Myers had an arrest record. Captain George Mastrokostas, the commanding officer of the 61st Precinct, said that they were alerted after the two were seen casing the establishment. “They were walking back and forth and one walked into the store and came back out,” Mastrokostas said. “When the two of them both walked in and locked the door behind them, another store owner called 911.” Mastrokostas said that the duo gave up, exiting the store one by one, just before responding officers had fully set up their hostage recovery plan. No one in the store suffered any serious injuries. “It was a good job done by all involved,” said Mastrokostas. “But thank God for concerned citizens, because if it wasn’t for that guy who called we would have responded to a past robbery and not a robbery in progress.” “I’m just glad my neighbors are all okay,” said Sam as he sprinkled cheese on the pizza dough.
