Abducted & Robbed Businessman In Garage
Jurors convicted a 32-year-old man last week for his role in the kidnapping of an Elmhurst man inside an apartment building parking garage back in November 2012, prosecutors announced.
Omar Hutchinson, 32, of South Fifth Avenue in Mount Vernon, Westchester County was found guilty last Monday, June 16, of seconddegree kidnapping, first- and second-degree robbery, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and attempted grand larceny.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter, who presided over the trial, ordered Hutchinson to return to court on July 10 for sentencing; the defendant faces up to 25 years behind bars, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
“[Hutchinson] has now been held accountable for his actions-forcibly abducting and robbing a businessman at gunpoint and threatening to physically harm his family,” Brown said in announcing the conviction last Tuesday, June 17. “Fortunately, the victim-who displayed tremendous courage under pressure-managed to escape his captor, keep his family out of harm’s way and eventually testify against the defendant at trial.”
Reportedly, the trouble began on the night of Nov. 9, 2012, when the then-33-year-old male victim, while on his way home from work, parked his Jaguar inside the basement garage of the Elmhurst apartment house where he lived with his wife and daughter.
Seconds after parking, law enforcement sources said, Hutchinson and an unidentified individual approached the victim, displayed handguns and demanded money.
The victim handed over his property, but the suspects- unsatisfied by what they received-reportedly bound and gagged the man, then placed him in the back seat of his Jaguar and left momentarily.
Police said Hutchinson and the unidentified perpetrator later returned, removed the gag and restraints from the victim and demanded that he bring them to his apartment, where his wife and daughter were at the time.
To keep the bandits away from his loved ones, law enforcement sources said, the victim convinced the gunmen he could withdraw additional funds from a nearby bank.
Moments later, authorities stated Hutchinson and the other suspect drove the victim in his own Jaguar to a nearby ATM, where he withdrew funds.
After the crooks demanded more, the victim reportedly told them he could get extra cash from a local grocery store owner whom he knew.
Police said the robbers allowed the victim to visit the store owner, but threatened to kill his wife and daughter if he tried anything to alert police.
Upon visiting the store, it was reported, the victim borrowed a customer’s phone and called his wife, telling her to take their child and leave the apartment immediately. He then contacted police, but by the time they arrived, Hutchinson and the unknown perpetrator had fled inside the victim’s Jaguar.
During a search, the vehicle was recovered abandoned several blocks away.
Law enforcement sources said the robbers contacted the victim again on Nov. 24, 2012 through a pay phone and demanded more money. The victim reportedly contacted police.
Based on a thorough investigation, the 112th Precinct Detective Squad eventually tracked down Hutchinson through a cell phone number. After the victim pointed him out of a police lineup and a photo array, Hutchinson was booked in connection with the kidnapping and robbery.
Det. Michael Donleavy of the 112th Precinct Detective Squad conducted the investigation under the supervision of Sgt. Claudia Bartolemei.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Timothy Regan and Ian Ramage of the DA’s Kew Gardens II Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Daniel M. Sullivan, bureau chief, and Mark Osnowitz and Jennifer L. Naiburg, deputy bureau chiefs.
