The note-passing thief who robbed cash from a bank in Maspeth back in August has robbed three more locations in northwest Queens this month, authorities said.
Police said that the most recent robbery occurred at 11:11 a.m. on Monday morning, Sept. 24, inside the Chase bank located at 37-15 82nd St. in Jackson Heights.
According to law enforcement sources, a man wearing a blue baseball cap walked into the bank, approached a teller and passed a piece of paper demanding money. The teller complied and handed over an undetermined amount of money and the thief quickly fled the scene on foot. Nobody was injured.
The suspect, who police identified as 39-year-old Justin Gass, also robbed a Chase Bank located on 47-11 Queens Blvd. in Sunnyside on Sept. 14 at 2:10 p.m. During the caper, authorities said, he passed a piece of paper demanding money to a teller, but this time motioned to his waistband to indicate that he had a handgun. Gass fled with an undetermined amount of money by foot.
The NYPD also tied Gass to a similar robbery at 10:40 a.m. on Sept. 8 at the Alma Bank located at 41-02 Broadway in Astoria.
Police described Gass as a white man standing 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with a thin build and tattoos on his arm and neck. He is known to frequent areas within the 104th Precinct’s confines, which includes Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
