By Jeff Lipton
Fourth Squad Detective Jon Daniel pieced together clues in the case, which led to the arrest of suspects Eric Hylton, 23, of 223rd Street, Rosedale, Queens, and Andrew Prime, 18, of 262nd Street, Rosedale. Both were charged with first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree kidnapping and first-degree robbery, police said.
Using video surveillance tapes taken from the ATM machines and armed with a description and a partial license number on the suspects' Acura Legend, Daniel tracked them to Rosedale on Wednesday, May 18. Daniel and Detective John Clinton of the Fourth Squad staked out the suspects' Queens neighborhood and waited for them to emerge, said Detective Sgt. Willard Miller of the Fourth Squad.
On Wednesday afternoon, one of the suspects arrived in the Acura, with three other occupants. Daniel and Clinton stopped the vehicle to question the occupants and saw a gun protruding from the driver's side, Miller said. New York City police officers were called in to back up the detectives, and Hylton was arrested, Miller said. The three other occupants were released after questioning. Moments later, the second suspect, Prime, who was following the Acura, pulled up in a vehicle to see what the commotion was about, and he was arrested after police determined he was also suspected in involvement in the April 4 abduction, Miller said. A 40-caliber handgun was recovered by police, Miller said.
"It was a great job by Detective Daniel, who put it [the case] all together," said Miller. "And then he and Clinton made good arrests. The video surveillance was very important, along with Det. Daniels's persistence."
Police are still searching for two other suspects who are wanted in the abduction. At 6:30 p.m. on April 4, the 22-year-old victim had left Quiznos, at 1320 Broadway in Hewlett, where he worked, and was walking home when a green two-door Acura with tinted windows, occupied by four men, pulled to the curb alongside him, police said.
A gunman confronted the victim and ordered him into the car, police said. When he refused, he was pistol-whipped on the head and two other men forced him into the car, police added.
After demanding that he hand over money from store receipts, which he did not have, the robbers took the victim's cell phone, jewelry, cash and wallet, in which they found his ATM receipts. For the next two and a half hours, they drove around Rosedale and the vicinity, attempting to force the victim to withdraw funds from ATMs, police said. The victim was unable to provide his PIN number. During the ordeal, they repeatedly struck the victim, Miller said.
"They struck him several times with their fists and burned him with a lighter," said Miller. "They roughed him up pretty good."
At about 9:05 p.m., a witness observed the victim being held at gunpoint at a bank in South Valley Stream, where the victim was able to break free and run to safety. The robbers then returned to the car and drove away, police said. The victim refused medical attention.
Police are still seeking information on the case. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 244-TIPS. All calls will be kept strictly confidential.
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
