Two men allegedly roughed up a Bayside smoke shop employee on Tuesday night, Jan. 10, before robbing the store, according to the NYPD.
Police from the 111th Precinct in Bayside are looking for the two suspects who entered the smoke shop at 43-21 Bell Blvd. at around 6:40 p.m. on Jan. 10 and approached the counter. They pretended to pay for merchandise with a fake cashapp, police said, but when they failed to make a payment, a struggle ensued with the worker over the merchandise and the perpetrators fled the location with nine jars of tobacco products that were on the counter.
The suspects took off in a black sedan southbound on Bell Boulevard and headed toward Northern Boulevard, according to authorities. The value of the tobacco products was not determined.
The store employee was not injured during the incident, police said.
The NYPD released video surveillance of the two suspects on Jan. 11 and described the suspects as having dark complexions.
One suspect was wearing a red jacket with a white fur-lined hood, black ripped jeans and a black baseball cap with “Cult” in white lettering across the front. The second suspect could be seen using his cell phone at the counter. He was wearing a black bubble jacket, white sweatpants and black sneakers.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
