By Brian Zanzonico
Since last September, 16 gas stations, convenience stores and beer distributors in Elmont and Franklin Square have been targeted by thieves.
No one was injured in the latest robberies, which spanned seven hours and two towns. The first two crimes occurred in Elmont. As an employee of the Shell station at 237-12 Linden Blvd. was getting in his car to leave at 2:45 p.m., he was approached from behind by a black male, about 5 feet 10, wearing dark clothing, police said. The man pulled out a gun and demanded money, then took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled southbound on 238th Street in a maroon car.
Later that afternoon, at 5:10 p.m., two black males, both wearing white T-shirts and baggy black pants, entered the Liberty gas station at 1278 Hempstead Turnpike, according to police. One of the men, who also wore a black and yellow baseball cap with a yellow checked front, pulled out a handgun and demanded that the cashier hand over the contents of the cash drawer. The cashier complied and the two men fled in a dark, late 1980s model Honda, police said.
Then, at 9:48 p.m., two black men, one armed with a handgun, entered the Sunoco gas station at 355 Franklin Ave. in Franklin Square. Police said they ordered the cashier to hand over all the money in his pockets and the cash register. The men also took the cashier's identification and several packs of cigarettes before fleeing on foot westbound onto Polk Avenue.
Employees at all three gas stations declined comment.
A police official who declined to be identified said that gas stations, beer distributors and convenience stores are targeted by thieves because criminals often think the stores have more cash on hand than they do. He said robbers usually make off with much less than anticipated.
"Not keeping large sums of money readily available is one safeguard put in place by management [to protect employees]," the police official said, noting that some stores even put stickers in their windows stating that they have little cash on hand. "But owners must do more to protect their employees and their business."
Felicia Ferris, a 16-year resident of Elmont, said she isn't surprised by the number of robberies, but she understands why area gas stations are marks. "It's been a problem for a while, because the [Belt and Southern State] parkways are right there," she said. "Jump right on the parkways and you're gone. We need beat cops to keep an eye on things."
Dustin Van Ryn of Franklin Square said the robbery of the Franklin Square Sunoco he frequents won't deter him from continuing to fill up his Jeep Cherokee there. "It doesn't make me want to get gas somewhere else, but I don't want to see or hear that anybody who works here gets hurt," he said as he left the station.
Raymond Blair, an attorney who commutes to the city and gases up a few times a month at the Liberty gas station, said the scariest part of the string of robberies is that most involve a gun. "You're talking about desperate people with deep issues," he said. "You just pray their desperation doesn't lead to violence in their quest to get something that isn't theirs."
In January, a robbery in Elmont turned violent. An attendant at the Emporium gas station on Elmont Road was stabbed several times and his attacker, who was never caught, made off with $100. Two weeks later, the gas station was robbed again.
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