NYPD hunts armed robbers who have held up 21 NYC stores in three months

John Annese, New York Daily News
Updated ·2 min read
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A pair of crooks have held up 21 stores at gunpoint over the past three months in a spree that has spanned three New York City boroughs, police said Sunday.

Cops released photos of the suspects, who have targeted mostly smoke shops and bodegas, and are asking the public’s help identifying the robbers and tracking them down.

The duo has been hard at work in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, striking typically between 8 and 10 p.m.

They started their spree 9:35 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Green Deli Mart and Grill on Patchen and Greene Aves. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, cops say. They pulled a gun on a 29-year-old clerk and made off with $500 cash.

They hit one store, the Sky Smoke Shop on Roosevelt Ave. by 94th St. in Jackson Heights, Queens, twice, taking $200 from the register on Sept. 5, then returning the very next day to steal another $1,200, police said.

Their biggest score was on Sept. 13 when one of the crooks walked into Nirvana Vape Cigars and Convenience on 21st St. at Broadway in Long Island City, Queens.

The crook flashed a gun at a 26-year-old worker and waltzed out with $3,279 from the cash register about 9:50 p.m., cops said.

The duo struck most recently on Oct. 9 about 9 p.m. when they stuck up a shop on Second Ave. at E. 89th St. on the Upper East Side.

Just minutes later, one gunman robbed a store at Queens Plaza South and 27th St. in Long Island City. Even though the heists happened in separate boroughs five minutes apart, police believe they’re linked as the robberies followed the same pattern, an NYPD spokesman said.

In all, the crooks hit two stores in Manhattan, five in Brooklyn and 14 in Queens, cops said. They made off with more than $19,100 in cash, $3,800 in store merchandise and a cellphone from a display case.

Citywide, robberies are up more than 35% this year through Oct. 9 compared to the same time period in 2021.

Cops ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.