Crook Followed Him Home From Casino
Security camera footage helped police catch a Bronx man last Friday, Nov. 7, who allegedly stalked an 88-year-old man from the Resorts World New York Casino in South Ozone Park and robbed him near the victim’s East Elmhurst home, it was reported.
Gregory Hillman, 57, of Concourse Village appeared in Queens Criminal Court last Saturday, Nov. 8, to answer to second-degree charges of robbery and assault and a count of fourthdegree grand larceny.
During the arraignment hearing, Judge Ernest Hart ordered him held on $40,000 bond or $20,000 cash and to return to court on Nov. 21. If convicted, Hillman faces up to 15 years behind bars.
“[Hillman] is accused of stalking his victim for more than an hour and a half and over a distance of more than 10 miles while, at the same time, boarding and exiting several modes of transportation before pouncing and robbing the man,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement last Saturday. “However, there were electronic eyes throughout the city that allegedly recorded the defendant’s movements.”
Reportedly, the trouble began on the afternoon of Oct. 31 at Resorts World New York, located adjacent to Aqueduct Racetrack at 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., where the 88-year-old had won $1,000 playing casino games.
Security camera footage that detectives later viewed showed Hillman walking close to the victim and watching him as he counted his winnings. Cameras captured footage later of Hillman following the victim onto a Resorts World casino express bus bound for the Jamaica train station, in the vicinity of Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue.
Hillman reportedly continued stalking the victim as he boarded a Manhattan-bound E train, then followed him as the man departed at the Roosevelt Avenue station on the Elmhurst/Jackson Heights border.
Authorities said Hillman allegedly continued to follow the victim as he shopped inside a supermarket at 75-01 Broadway, then after he boarded a Q47 bus heading toward the Marine Air Terminal. The suspect reportedly walked off the bus after the victim departed at a location in East Elmhurst.
As the elderly victim approached his home, police stated, Hillman allegedly grabbed his pockets from behind. A struggle reportedly ensued and the perpetrator pushed the man to the ground.
Law enforcement sources said the elderly man struck his head on the sidewalk and briefly lost consciousness. After knocking the man out, police noted, Hillman allegedly removed the victim’s wallet, which contained more than $1,000 in cash and a credit card, and fled.
Officers from the 115th Precinct responded to the incident. The victim was treated for various injuries that were not lifethreatening.
Brown thanked Resorts World and the MTA for their assistance in the investigation, which the 115th Precinct Detective Squad conducted.
The case is being prosecuted by the DA’s Special Victims Bureau.
