Knife-point robberies continue

Two Valley Stream convenience stores were robbed by a man with a large knife last weekend, and the robberies, at a 7-Eleven on North Central Avenue early Saturday morning and a Valero gas station on Sunrise Highway the next night, fit the pattern of 19 similar crimes reported in and near the village since February.

A man entered the 7-Eleven, at 190 N. Central Ave., at 3:40 a.m. on Saturday and approached a 60-year-old male clerk, according to Nassau County police. The suspect brandished a knife and told the clerk to open the register. The clerk complied, and the suspect took cash and grabbed cigarettes and scratch-off lottery tickets before fleeing north on Central Avenue. The clerk was alone in the store during the robbery and was not injured.

On Sunday, a man entered the Valero gas station at 8:20 p.m., brandished a knife and told the male clerk, who was alone in the store, to open the register, police said. The clerk did so and the suspect took cash as well as “numerous boxes of Newport cigarettes,” according to police. The suspect fled east on Sunrise Highway, then south on Bismark Avenue, police said. The clerk was not injured.

Nassau County police spokesman Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun said on Tuesday that 21 crimes are being investigated as part of the pattern. Sixteen of them occurred in Valley Stream, including the first on Feb. 9 at a Shell gas station that police identified as being in North Woodmere, but has a Valley Stream address. Other heists occurred in Elmont, Franklin Square, Hewlett and Lynbrook.

“This subject is brazen and aggressive,” LeBrun said. He advised that store owners should be vigilant, keep their shops well-lit and keep windows clear of any obstructions so that they can see outside and passers-by can see inside at all times. He said that people should call police if they see anything suspicious. 

“We believe that he is staking out the store to make sure that there is nobody else in the store most of the time, and he is very quick,” LeBrun said. “He’s in and he’s out. He takes either a small amount of cash or lottery tickets and cigarettes. He is not lingering in that store.”

The descriptions provided by police in each incident are similar, with the suspect in Friday’s robbery described as a black man, 5 feet 8, with a thin build and wearing black gloves, a dark scarf around his face and a gray hooded sweatshirt with the word “Victory” on the back.

The suspect in the Valero robbery was described as a black man between 5 feet 8 and 5 feet 10, with a medium build and wearing a black jacket over a blue hooded sweatshirt, black gloves and a scarf around his face.

Those descriptions match that of the man who used a knife to rob the Ultra gas station, at 360 N. Central Ave., three times in the last two months, according to owner Manisha Shah, 43. She said she was sure it was the same man who walked behind the counter once in November and twice in December and emptied the cash register. Clerk Lovie Singh, 21, was at the counter during two of those incidents. He said the man entered the store when no customers were inside, calmly walked behind the counter and brandished the knife.

“He said he had to pay bills,” an incredulous Singh said of one incident. “If you have to pay bills, get a job! Don’t come take from my gas station.”

“We have no protection over here,” said Shah, adding that her losses from the robberies have been compounded by the loss of customers for several hours after each incident while police cordon off the station. She said she wished there was more police presence in the area, and pointed to the Capital One Bank across the street, noting that it had been robbed the day before. Shah said that she thought the suspect had watched the station and waited until there were no customers.

The 7-Eleven that was robbed last Saturday is less than a half-mile south on North Central Avenue. John Maywald, whose wife, Catherine, owns the store, said the robber was calm, “like he was taking a walk in the park,” after he approached the night shift clerk from behind. Surveillance footage of the incident showed the suspect entering the store and walking to the back. He had something that looked like a black plastic bag obscuring something in his hand. After briefly opening a door to the refrigerated drinks, he walked to the front of the store, where the clerk had his back turned as he worked at a counter. The suspect brandished the knife and walked him to the register.

In past robberies, the suspect removed the entire cash drawer from registers, police said, but recently has been taking cash and cigarettes. Police are looking for a “white Honda Accord-type vehicle” with yellow New York plates that the suspect is thought to have used to flee.

During the robbery at Evan’s Corner on Feb. 24, the store’s owner suffered a cut on his hand during a struggle with the suspect. No other injuries have been reported.

Police believe the suspect lives in or near Valley Stream due to the frequency of robberies there, 16 so far, and the fact that he flees on foot, and at least once on a bicycle.

“This investigation is one of our highest priorities,” LeBrun said, “and the robbery squad is looking at all forensic evidence and is following all leads.”
Ralph Polverino, president of the Valley Stream Civilian Patrol, said that his group’s 15 active members patrol the unincorporated and incorporated village streets regularly. There are 10 others who don’t patrol due to age or illness. “We try to do as much as we can,” Polverino said. “We drive through and we try to see what we can see.”

Mayor Ed Fare said that he is organizing a meeting with county police officials, County Legislator Bill Gaylor and village officials from several departments to address the crime spree. “Obviously, it’s a serious problem,” he said.