By Bill Parry
CORONA – The NYPD released new surveillance video Sunday that shows two men connected to a series of several cell phone store robberies in western Queens over the last month. The footage tracks the two suspects near a Sprint store they allegedly robbed near Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona Dec. 21.
They brandished a gun and allegedly forced two customers to the back of the store, where they were bound with tape before taking off with 218 iPhones, iPads and Samsung phones and tablets, and $800 from the register, police said. They also took $1,100 in cash from two customers and $30 from a store employees, according to the NYPD. The victims were not treated for any injuries, police say.
The same men entered a T-Mobile store at 86-16 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst on Sat. Dec. 3, flashed a gun and ordered the employees to the back of store before allegedly taking $600 worth of property and fled the store, police said. One employee gave chase and was fired at by one of the suspects but was not hit, according to the NYPD.
The first incident occurred Nov. 20 at a Spring store at 46-31 Greenpoint Ave. in Sunnyside. The two men entered and approached a 22-year-old woman working in the store, produced a firearm and demanded cash and merchandise, police said. The suspects allegedly stole 45 Apple iPhones and $3,500 before fleeing on foot northbound on 47th Street, according to the NYPD.
No one was injured and there have been no arrests, said a police spokesman and the investigation continues. One suspect is described as a 6-foot-1 black man with dreadlocks around 250 pounds, while the other suspect is a 5-foot-10 black man around 200 pounds. with a dark complexion and a Caesar style haircut.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
— TimesLedger reporter Bill Parry
