A Brooklyn man is facing an astonishing 350 years in prison after he was officially charged– along with two co-defendants also from Brooklyn– in a series of armed robberies at convenience stores across the borough last month, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Reginald Williams, 23, of Boerum Street, and his co-defendants Calvin Scantlebury, 39, of Sullivan Place, and Dewkwan Cooper, 22, of Osborn Street, were indicted by a Queens grand jury. The trio was then arraigned Thursday before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gia Morris on a 10-count indictment, charging them with robbery and other crimes for allegedly holding up two people at gunpoint in an East Elmhurst deli on Nov. 20 and taking off with $4,000 in cash.
About a half hour later, the three men held up a Gulf gas station in Sunnyside. Both hold-ups were caught in video surveillance, according to Katz.
Police Officer from the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst was on routine patrol in Jackson Heights when he heard a radio call regarding the two heists saying the perpetrators were driving a blue or black Nissan Maxima. Garvey spotted the vehicle in Broadway around 2:30 a.m. and followed it for about five blocks before pulling them over for a traffic infraction. He observed three men in the vehicle along with multiple cartons of Newports that were reported stolen from the Gulf station, and the three men were taken into custody.
At the time of arrest, officers recovered $1,151 from Scantlebury’s sweatshirt pocket and $908 from Cooper’s sweatshirt and pants pockets. Inside Williams’ sweatshirt pocket, officers recovered a black face mask, a pair of gloves, and a loaded 40 caliber pistol with 14 rounds of ammunition.
“As alleged, these are predators of our small businesses,” Katz said. “We cannot stand by and watch our lives and communities be targeted.”
Williams was also indicted and arraigned on a separate 28-count indictment charging him with robbery and other crimes for allegedly holding up 13 people at gunpoint in eight different stores in a robbery spree across Queens.
According to the criminal charges, Williams admitted that he and other accomplices entered eight different commercial establishments in Ridgewood, Maspeth, and Flushing between Nov. 8 and Nov. 17 and stole money from the cash registers and additional items from the stores at gunpoint.
Justice Morris ordered Williams, Scantlebury, and Cooper to return to court on January 5. If convicted, Williams faces up to 350 years in prison, Scantlebury up to 30 years, and Cooper as many as 15 years in prison.
“I thank the NYPD for their steadfast investigation of these robberies,” Katz said. “There will be accountability.”
