by Mike Schnitzel
The manager said he willingly handed over the money because he feared the robbers would start shooting.
"I said, 'Take anything you want, just don't shoot us,' " said the manager, who did not want to be identified. "When you have a gun pressed to your head, you see your whole life flash before your eyes. I just didn't want my co-worker or I to get shot."
The incident began about 7:15 p.m. after workers had closed up shop and were getting ready to leave for the night when they received a phone call, according to the manager.
"It was a man's voice and he asked what time we closed," said the manager. "I told him we closed at seven o'clock and he said, 'Oh I guess I'm too late' and hung up the phone." At around 7:20 p.m., the manager said he and a co-worker noticed two men who were wearing hooded sweatshirts approaching the rear of the building and carrying guns. The manager said he left the cash out in the open in the office and tried to run for help.
"I knew [the money] was what they wanted and I didn't want anyone to get shot," the manager said.
The manager said that the robbers put a gun to a co-worker's head and told him to get on the ground and not look at them. One of the robbers then grabbed the manager, placed a gun to his head and demanded that he lead them to the money. Police said that the suspects took the $800 in cash and then ran away.
The area has a recent history of gunpoint robberies of storekeepers. New York Petroleum, about a block east of Jiffy Lube, was hit with gunpoint robberies twice in February. A year prior to those holdups, a 31-year-old attendant at the gas station was shot once in the torso by two robbers who escaped with $3,000. A second attendant was unharmed in that incident. The shooting victim was treated at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside.
Police described the holdupmen in Monday's robbery as two black males in their 20s, wearing dark shirts and jeans. An investigation by Fifth Squad detectives is ongoing. Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
Comments about this story? Mschnitzel@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
