Police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill are looking for two masked men who robbed a cellphone store at knifepoint on the night of Wednesday, March 19.
The suspect walked into the corner shop at 112-02 Jamaica Ave. just before 8 p.m., pulled a knife on the 22-year-old store employee, and demanded he give them his property before locking the victim in a bathroom, police said Sunday. The perpetrators removed electronics and cash, totaling $3,050, before exiting the shop onto Jamaica Avenue. The police said the employee was not injured during the heist.
The NYPD released surveillance video of the suspects casing the store before threatening the employee. One wore a black hooded sweatshirt with white lettering on the chest and arms, black sweatpants, a gray face mask, a gray backpack, and black sneakers. His accomplice wore a red and black hoodie, black sweatpants, black and white sneakers, and a white face mask.
Anyone with information regarding this armed robbery 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 crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through March 16, the 102nd Precinct has reported 24 robberies so far in 2025, 15 fewer than 39 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 38.5%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are also down in the precinct, with 57 reported so far this year, 16 fewer than the 73 reported at the same point in 2024, a decrease of 21.9%, according to CompStat.
