Witness helps police nab 2 in Fed Ex theft after being threatened with gun in Westchester
Two men were arrested Monday after an alert bystander spotted them stealing from a Fed Ex delivery driver in Port Chester, village police said.
The witness tried to stop them from driving away until he was threatened with a gun. But his subsequent call to village police led to a pursuit and the men were eventually caught across Westchester County on Interstate 87, according to a post on the police department's Facebook page.
Michael Canela, 32, and Diovanny Martinez, 25, were arraigned Tuesday in Rye Town Court on charges of second-degree robbery.
The theft occurred on Bulkley Avenue near Poningo Street just before 1 pm.
According to the criminal complaints filed in court, Martinez walked up to the Fed Ex driver, grabbed a package from him and got in a Honda Civic driven by Canela.
The witness followed the robbers and tried to block their car in ‒ but then backed off when Canela rolled down the window and pointed a small handgun at him, according to police and the complaints. The witness called police with a description of the car and their direction of travel. Once that was broadcast to other departments, a Westchester County police officer spotted the car on the westbound Cross County Parkway.
County police said he followed the car and observed items being thrown out on the ramp from the Cross County to the Bronx River Parkway. He could not pursue the car further because of traffic conditions, police said. But the county police Real Time Crime Center was able to track the car to Interstate 87, where Ardsley and county police boxed it in as the suspects tried to exit in Ardsley.
Three dumped packages believed to contain electronics were recovered by county police. An investigation is underway into whether they were stolen prior to Monday's robbery.
Police are asking anyone who is missing items they were expecting to be delivered Monday to contact them at 914-939-6332.
Canela was also charged with menacing. Judge Anthony Provenzano set bail for the defendants at $10,000 cash, $20,000 bond and $50,000 partially secured bond and they were sent to the county jail. They are due back in court on Sept. 20.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Port Chester NY witness helps police catch suspected Fed Ex thieves
