A string of robberies hit stores along Broadway
March 23, 2016 By Michael Florio
A spate of recent robberies has driven up the crime rate in Astoria’s 114 Precinct.
The crime rate is up nearly 44 percent for the 28-day period ending March 20, compared to the same 28-day period in 2015. Felony assaults and grand larcenies have also contributed to the increase.
There have been 29 robberies in Astoria over the past month, compared to 16 during the same period in 2015 – an increase of 81 percent – according to the 114 Precinct.
The sharp rise is due to a handful of robbery patterns.
“There are six active robbery patterns,” Captain Peter Fortune, Commanding Officer of the 114 Precinct, said Tuesday night at a community meeting. “I have never seen this many before [in the precinct].”
One pattern involves a suspect who has been jumping over store counters and simulating a firearm while wearing a mask, Fortune said. He has struck five times, four in the 114 Precinct and once in the 112 Precinct, which covers Forest Hills and adjoining neighborhoods.
The man, however, was arrested on March 10 and is being held on $175,000 bail. This comes after pleading guilty to two robberies in Manhattan on March 4.
Another man has been robbing banks in the 114 Precinct and other precincts in Queens. Fortune described the suspect as 6-feet-tall with a slim build and neatly groomed mustache and beard.
He hit the Astoria Bank branch at 37-16 30th Ave. on March 4, Fortune said.
Meanwhile three men have been targeting stores in the area. Two of the men typically jump over a counter, display a firearm and take off with cash. A third man is the pickup driver who rides a 2015 Chevy Malibu.
The crew recently held up a 7-Eleven located at 50-92 Northern Blvd.
Police have issued wanted posters of the perpetrators.
At a community meeting in February, Fortune discussed a pattern of store robberies on Broadway between 29th and 21st Street. The suspect was identified as a white male.
Since the meeting the suspect has been identified and is living in a rehabilitation facility.
Police would not reveal his identity.
“We are confident when he gets out we will grab him,” Fortune said.
The Captain said that there are plans in place to “target these patterns that are driving these crimes.”
“I’m confident once we close these patterns the numbers will go down,” he added.
However, there have been 34 felony assaults during the 28-day period ending March 20, compared to just 14 for the same period in 2015. Of those 34 incidents, 23 have been closed with an arrest.
Grand larceny is up 58 percent, with 68 incidents during the 28-day period compared to 43 in 2015.
“We have had 20 incidents of people leaving their items unattended and thieves coming along and stealing them,” Fortune said last night. “Whether it be a backpack, credit card, or phone, don’t leave it unattended.”
Additionally, he said five motorized bicycles/scooters have been stolen during this period. He said this is a new phenomenon, and there is no specific area where they are being targeted.
Fortune’s goal is to lower these numbers, he said last night.
“We have got to get better,” he said.
