Sunnyside Pharmacy Owner (Photo: QueensPost)
Jan. 8, 2011 By Christian Murray
Two masked men entered the Sunnyside Pharmacy on Skillman Ave. on Nov. 15 and approached the owner with a knife.
The two men then blindfolded the proprietor, sat him down in a corner of the store, and then began riffling through the prescription drug section. They then stole Oxycodone, a crude substitute for heroin, and took off with cash.
“These people knew me and the store,” the owner of the pharmacy, located at 48-11 Skillman Ave., said. “They knew I wouldn’t have that many customers in the store at 5:40 pm when it happened.” The police—then detectives—arrived shortly after the robbery, he said, but he has not heard from them since.
Today, a police spokesman said no arrests have been made in the case.
Meanwhile, across the street at 48-06 Skillman Ave., Victor Alvarez, the owner of Via Classic Emporium, said his store was burgled in the early hours of Jan. 1. “They took my computer, photo equipment, antique jewelry and other items—totaling more than $10,000.” He added the burglars also trashed his store, up ending china cabinets and smashing lamps.
No arrests have been made in this case either, police said.
Alvarez said that he was now in the process of installing video cameras as a means to deter criminals.
Meanwhile, to enter the Sunnyside Pharmacy these days, customers must ring a doorbell before they can enter. “I put this in shortly after the attack,” the pharmacy owner said.
