By Nicole Falco
Police believe it took the pair of police impersonators about two hours to commit five robberies April 7, including the one in Valley Stream, one in Elmont and three in Queens.
According to police, the spree began just after 1 p.m. with the armed robbery of a cell phone store on Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The two men made off with an undetermined number of cell phones. At 2:14 p.m., the robbers found their way to Alternative Audio Shop at 744 Elmont Road in Elmont, where they brandished a handgun and demanded cash from a store employee.
In a phone call to the Elmont store, which outfits cars with custom audio, video and alarm systems, a man who identified himself as the manager said he was in the store with another employee and two friends when they were confronted by the suspects.
"They came in the back and said, 'Everybody up front,'" the manager said. "Which was stupid, because we were right in front of the window, facing Elmont Road. Then they said, 'Give us all your money.' We said we didn't have any. They said, 'Give me your flip-off TV's [for cars].' I told them we didn't carry them; we have to order them. Then they left and I went back to work."
The manager, who said that his mother came to the shop 20 minutes after the incident so he could take her to the airport, added that he didn't fear for his life because owners of businesses along that section of Elmont Road have gotten used to being targets of robberies. "It's a regular occurrence around here," he said. "Convenience stores, gas stations -they're always getting robbed in this neighborhood."
Ten minutes after fleeing Alternative Audio, the pair arrived at Late Night Convenience, at 33 S. Central Avenue in Valley Stream. Late Nite is owned by Ravi and Renu Kumar, who moved to Valley Stream from Corona, Queens, about four years ago.
Renu, who was alone at the time of the robbery, said one of the suspects came behind the counter where she was working, while the other stood guard near the door. "He asked me for the Western Union money and I said I didn't have it," Renu said. "I said whatever is here, just search for it. He started with the coin box and threw all the coins on the floor, then he went for the register and the lotto money."
When they had what they wanted, the robbers fled. In the next half hour, police say, they robbed two mini-marts in Queens Village, one on Guy R. Brewer Boulevard and the other on South Conduit Avenue.
Nassau County Police helicopters were dispatched in an attempt to locate the men, who witnesses say were driving a black Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows and an American flag sticker in a rear window, but aerial searches were unsuccessful.
When asked about the procedure for pursuing suspects who flee the county, Sgt. John Galgano of the 5th Squad said that Nassau County Police are authorized to pursue suspects into other jurisdictions, like Queens. In such instances, the NYPD is notified and can opt to offer assistance. The time of day and the level of danger of the pursuit are factors police use to determine whether they will follow suspects into neighboring jurisdictions, Galgano explained.
Part of a pattern
Nassau County Police are investigating the possibility that the men wanted in connection with last Friday's robberies are responsible for six others in the 5th Precinct and one in New Hyde Park. "The [recent] robberies were part of a pattern," said Galgano.
The pattern, known as Robbery Pattern 4, does not include incidents in other jurisdictions such as Queens, although robberies there may have been committed by the same suspects.
According to officer Stan Slevinski, 5th Precinct crime analyst, the pattern began with three armed robberies on Feb. 8, including one at Late Nite Convenience, one at Wines Unlimited at 40 Central Court in North Valley Stream, and another at MJZ Communications at 752A Elmont Road in Elmont. Four more robberies were committed on Feb. 14, 15 and 22.
Slow to respond
Renu Kumar, who was working in Late Nite Convenience both times it was robbed, said police should do more to protect people like her. She added that it took police almost 10 minutes to arrive at the scene even though they were called while the robbery was in progress. She said police were called by an unidentified man who was about to enter the store, but stopped when he saw what was happening. And Kumar and an employee at the laundromat next door both alerted police by pressing their panic buttons.
"The police were so late," Kumar said. "By the time they came in, [the robbers] were almost ready to rob another store."
As a result of the two robberies at their store, the Kumars understandably have become quite concerned, although Ravi said that most of his customers are nice neighborhood people. The day after the most recent robbery, he said he was already increasing security at his store, adding additional security cameras. The Kumars have also cleared the store's front window in order to get a better look at customers as they enter.
Galgano and a spokesman at the Nassau County Police Public Information Office said they could not comment on Renu's claim, because the response time report for that incident was unavailable.
Suspects' descriptions
Witnesses described the first perpetrator as a black man, 5 feet 9 inches tall with a thin build, wearing a black knit hat and black hooded jacket with the NYPD logo. The second robber was described as a black man, 5 feet 8 inches tall with a heavy build, wearing a dark shirt, silver-rimmed glasses and black hooded jacket with the NYPD logo.
No injuries were reported.
Mike Schnitzel, Brian Zanzonico and Kathy Leistner contributed to this story. Comments about it? NFalco@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
