East Meadow man attempted to rob Target, police said

An East Meadow man was arrested on Feb. 6 after attempting to rob multiple items from Target on Corporate Drive in Westbury, according to a Nassau County police report. Genri Palacios Acosta, 35, took an Uber to the Target and asked the driver to wait for him outside of the store. Acosta entered the shopping center, placed numerous items in a shopping cart and left the store without paying.

Store security chased Acosta outside and he abandoned the shopping cart with the stolen items. He dashed toward the Uber, which had been waiting for him, but the driver, a 28-year-old male, saw what happened and refused to drive Acosta. The driver then left the vehicle and Acosta entered the side door to attempt to use the vehicle to get away, police said.

The Uber driver reentered the car in the passenger side, struggled to grab the keys, and eventually jumped from the moving vehicle after Acosta allegedly pulled out a gun.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Acosta was also arrested on Feb. 2 and fitted with an ankle-monitoring bracelet by Nassau County Probation. Police used the bracelet to find Acosta outside his East Meadow home, where he was arrested without incident. The Uber driver’s vehicle was found in Hempstead.

On his arrest, police also found that Acosta had a vile of marijuana and a glass pipe filled with crack cocaine.

Acosta was charged with second-degree robbery, petit larceny and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.