By Naeisha Rose
Police were searching for a suspect wanted for questioning in connection with a string of robberies that occurred over the course of a month in southeast Queens.
Authorities are interested in talking to the suspect about six robberies that have yielded $32,470 in stolen merchandise and money from cell phone stores, auto repair stores and electronic stores The robberies took place in Rosedale and Queens Village and some were within hours of each other, according to the NYPD.
The male suspect was last seen wearing a ski mask and dark clothing, police said.
The most recent robbery took place at a Queens Village auto repair store located at 216-02 Hempstead Ave. The shop was robbed of $1,000 worth of electronics April 3, according to authorities. Police said a window was pried open to commit the robbery.
The first incident was reported to police March 3 at 1 p.m. in Rosedale after a cell phone store employee arrived to work at 219-19 Merrick Blvd. and discovered $22,000 worth of electronics missing, according to police. An investigation determined that the unidentified individual gained entry to the establishment by forcing open a rear door at the location, the NYPD said.
Five hours later, a second incident in Rosedale was reported to police by an auto repair employee of S&S Auto Repair at 6 p.m. An investigation determined that a side door to the commercial store — located at 242-02 Merrick Blvd. — was opened and $5,000 worth of electronics was stolen.
Nine days later, another auto repair store in Rosedale reported it was broken into March 12 at 8:30 p.m., claiming that $630 worth or electronics were removed, according to an employee of Sunrise Auto Sales, located 246-19 North Conduit Ave. In this case, the front door was forced open, according to the NYPD.
Approximately an hour later police received a report of a MetroPCS located at 139-37 245th St. in Rosedale that was robbed of an estimated $2,500 in cash from a safe box. Similar to the second incident, a side door was forced opened.
On March 27, the Square Biz electronics store in Queens Village, located at 214-35 Jamaica Ave., had $1,340 worth of electronics stolen, according to police. A rear door was forcibly opened to gain entry to the store, police said.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDC
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
