Cops Bust Alleged Resorts World Robber
The luck of an alleged armed robber who stole a jackpot from the Resorts World New York casino in South Ozone Park in June ran out last Tuesday, July 31, when he was collared by police while hiding out in the Poconos, law enforcement sources said.
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as 23-year-old Kevin Lides of 135th Street in Briarwood, who was collared by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force in Monroe County, Pa. He appeared in a local court last Wednesday, Aug.1 and was expected to be extradited to Queens shortly thereafter.
Lides faces first-degree robbery and second-degree grand larceny charges for allegedly holding up the casino located within Aqueduct Racetrack at 110-00 Rockaway Blvd. on the afternoon of June 29.
“The odds of getting away with such an alleged crime were stacked against him, and his long overdue arrest proves the old adage: you can run, but you cannot hide,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown in announcing the suspect’s arrest last Wednesday.
Reportedly, Lides entered the Resorts World Casino at 4:34 p.m. on June 29 and approached a teller at the second-floor cashier cage. Upon arrival, law enforcement sources said, he allegedly handed the worker a note demanding cash and stated that she would be killed if she did not comply.
Authorities stated that the suspect also allegedly threatened to have a gun and reached under his shirt. The cashier reportedly placed $63,000 in cash from the drawer onto the counter.
Police said Lides allegedly placed the money in a plastic bag, then walked away from the cashier’s cage and fled from the scene.
Members of the 106th Precinct responded to the scene. There were no injuries.
During their investigation, prosecutors said, police recovered a fingerprint matching Lides from the location. Surveillance cameras inside the casino also captured the suspect committing the robbery.
Detectives Jerome Ranjitsingh and Patrick Roach of the 106th Precinct Detective Squad conducted the investigation. Brown offered thanks to the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department and the Office of Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine Jr. for their help in the probe.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Alix Kucker, supervisor of the D.A.’s Extraditions Unit, and paralegal Anna Lucatorto handled the extradition proceedings under the supervisions of Assistant District Attorneys Therese M. Lendino, chief of the Grand Jury Bureau, and Patricia A. Malloy, deputy bureau chief.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Brian E. Kohm of the D.A.’s Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gerard A. Brave, bureau chief, and Mark L. Katz, deputy bureau chief.
