CRISTABELLE TUMOLA AND ANGY ALTAMIRANO
Cops have arrested a man for allegedly striking a police officer in Astoria last month with a stolen vehicle he used in a robbery earlier that day.
Gary Sarback, 61, of Lake Worth, Fla., was charged Tuesday with attempted murder on a police officer, assault, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal possession of stolen property after he was apprehended in Astoria, said authorities.
The injured cop was on patrol near Crescent Street and Broadway the night of Thursday, August 22 when another cop tried to pull over a pickup truck, said police. Shots were fired as the suspect tried to leave the scene, hitting the officer with his vehicle.
The driver then ditched his truck around 37th Avenue and 24th Street and fled on foot.
Both officers were taken to Cornell Medical Center with non-threatening life injuries where they were later treated and released.
Before hitting the officer with the vehicle, the suspect allegedly approached a 49-year-old woman around 79th Street in Astoria that afternoon and forcibly removed her pocketbook, according to authorities. The victim sustained minor injuries after she chased the suspect back to his truck and was dragged by the vehicle as it fled.
It was later determined that the vehicle used in the robbery was reported stolen in West Palm Beach, Fla, two days earlier, and that a .38 caliber revolver was inside the truck when it was taken.
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