Suspect Charged In Dozens Of Knifepoint Robberies
FLORAL PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A suspect wanted in two dozen knifepoint robberies in Queens and on Long Island was arrested and charged Wednesday following an intense manhunt, local and federal authorities said.
The dangerous crime spree that started back on March 1 came to an end Wednesday in Floral Park, where authorities said the suspect -- identified as Khalif House, 24, of Hempstead Village -- was arrested just off Jericho Turnpike between Van Siclen and South Tyson Avenues, CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported.
Area residents were relieved to hear that House had been caught.
"He had knives on him and stuff like that," said Sheila Doonachar of Floral Park. "He was a very dangerous guy."
As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, House was led into Nassau County Police Headquarters in handcuffs and a white evidence jumpsuit without saying a word. Authorities explained his suspected motive.
"It appears the suspect had a drug habit – perhaps heroin – and that may be a motivation for these robberies," said Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano.
The FBI, the NYPD, Nassau County police and Floral Park police were involved in the search for the suspect.
"He began to pick up intensity as well," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce. "He hit June 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and then 6th."
The police agencies searched by air in a helicopter, and went door-to-door, to catch the elusive robber after a homeowner called 911 just before 7 a.m. to report finding the man sleeping on his couch, McLogan reported.
"I got up this morning, I come down to the bottom of my stairs, I look over, I see somebody moving on my couch," said retired electrician Bill O'Keefe. "He wore a black hooded sweatshirt. He saw me. I saw him. He got up and ran out my living room to my dining room, and out the back door."
Then, just after 11 a.m., a local business owner recognized the suspect from "wanted" posters and screamed, alerting police.
"The cops were leaving and I looked across the street and I saw him coming across the street... that's him... and I just screamed at the top of my lungs, 'There he is!' They came, they chased him through the parking lot and they got him," Anne Marie Krosciata, owner of a Curves gym, told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall. "Once he started running they ran after him and they barricaded him."
Police said the suspect may have been hiding in a red van, which was being dusted for prints late Wednesday. Police said he evaded officers from the Jericho Turnpike and moved to the cellar of a house on Van Siclen Avenue – the homeowner unaware until the end – before he was finally captured.
"We had three cops standing right there next to my house, and then they started chasing him, and then there were cops leaving, and we were like, 'That's him, that's him!' and they went behind and then they caught him in the parking lot," said witness Farhana Shabnan.
Doonachar lives on Van Buren Street near the point where police said House was spotted.
"The FBI said: 'Lock the doors. Go in and keep your doors locked. Stay indoors,'" she said.
The arrest came after the masked, knife-wielding suspect struck for the 25th time Tuesday night.
Police said a man wearing black clothing and sunglasses entered a Dollar Tree store on 14th Street in College Point, Queens, showed a knife and demanded cash, but fled without any money, CBS2 reported.
Officers spotted the suspect at a nearby Dunkin' Donuts Tuesday night after the dollar store robbery, police said.
On Sunday, police said the suspect held up an employee at a Subway on Springfield Boulevard in Bayside and stole $500.
Police said most of the shops the suspect targeted were close to highways.
The suspect hit several locations across Queens and Long Island -- mostly Dunkin Donuts, Carvel and Subway -- getting away with more than $3,600 in cash, police said.
Police said it was amazing no one was killed by the knifepoint robber.
"The prior record is very limited. There's I believe one resisting arrest and there's some minor offenses – nothing that would ever indicate that he would be a possible person of interest in a crime pattern such as this," said acting Nassau County police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter.
House will spend Wednesday night at Nassau County Police Headquarters and will be taken into federal custody on Thursday, Castro reported.
A suspected accomplice was also in custody late Wednesday. The woman was suspected to be House's getaway driver, and was first picked up outside a Dunkin' Donuts in Little Neck on Wednesday night – where she spilled the beans, police said.
