A College Point FDNY EMT was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Aug. 16 and charged with grand larceny and other charges for allegedly snatching a debit card from the purse of a 79-year-old Springfield Gardens woman during an Aug. 8 ambulance call at her home, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Emergency medical service first responder Robert Marshall, 29, of 114th Street in College Point, was arraigned before Judge Scott Dunn on a seven-count complaint charging him with grand larceny and six counts of petit larceny.
According to the charges, on the morning of August 8, Marshall entered the home of the victim Barbara Faison near Edgewood Avenue and 230th Avenue as he was working as an FDNY EMT. The victim required medical attention and was transported to an area hospital. When the victim checked her purse several days later, she realized that a red debit card was missing from her handbag.
According to the complaint, video surveillance footage from a liquor store on 20th Avenue, near FDNY EMS Station 49 in Astoria, shows Marshall on the evening of Aug. 8 purchasing two bottles of Moët champagne using a red debit card. The same red debit card was used to make purchases at a brick oven pizzeria, a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, a Key Food grocery store, and a laundromat.
Marshall was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 16 while off-duty in southeast Queens following, an investigation by detectives from the 105th Precinct in Queens Village.
“First responders take an oath to safeguard the welfare of our residents,” Katz said. “As alleged, the defendant in this case used his position as an EMT to steal the victim’s property at a particularly vulnerable time, as she was being transported to a local hospital. This behavior goes against the mission of public service. The defendant is now charged accordingly and faces justice in our courts.”
The FDNY said it will suspend Marshall without pay for 28 days and further discipline is expected pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings against him.
Judge Dunn set Marshall’s return to court for Oct. 18. If convicted Marshall faces up to four years in prison.
