Armed Crook Robbed Woodside Dealership
A Bronx man is spending the next two decades behind bars for stealing a luxury automobile at gunpoint from a Woodside car dealership during a October 2006 robbery, prosecutors reported.
Rafael Then, 28, was sentenced last Thursday, June 7, by Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth R. Holder to a determinate 23-year prison term after he was convicted by a jury on May 23 to first- and seconddegree robbery charges.
“Violence such as this will not be tolerated on the streets of Queens County,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement last Thursday. “The sentence imposed by the court today is more than warranted to keep society safe.”
According to testimony offered at trial, the trouble began at around 5 p.m. on the afternoon of Oct. 15, 2006 at the Baron Auto Mall, located at 55- 11 Northern Blvd.
Reportedly, the robbery victim had moved a 2003 Lexus GS 300 onto the sidewalk as he was helping staff members close the dealership for the day when Then walked by him.
Law enforcement sources said Then yelled at the victim after he left the Lexus and walked away. When the worker turned around, authorities said, Then pointed a gun at him and demanded the keys to the luxury car.
After obtaining the keys, Then told the victim to enter the dealership and say nothing. Seconds later, then reportedly got inside the vehicle and sped away.
Police were contacted about the theft, and an investigation was launched.
Less than two weeks after the theft, authorities noted, officers in the Bronx-while using a mobile plate reader to search for stolen autos- found the stolen Lexus the robbery in the vicinity of Clay Avenue and 173rd Street in the Claremont section of the borough.
The officers then conducted surveillance outside the car and arrested Then after he was observed entering the stolen Lexus, law enforcement sources said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patricia M. Theodorou, supervisor in the D.A.’s Career Criminals Major Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys James W. Evangelou, bureau chief, and Robert J. Hanophy, deputy bureau chief.
