Acrobatic Thieves Net Nearly $88k In Armed Robberies At Check-Cashing Stores In Brooklyn, Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some apparently acrobatic thieves have gotten away with nearly $88,000 in cash in a series of armed robberies across two boroughs, police said.
Police believe the men have struck four times at money-transfer and check-cashing businesses in Brooklyn and Queens. In each incident, one man stands watch at the door while one or two other men with guns demand cash from an employee behind the counter, CBS2's Ali Bauman reported.
The bandits most recently struck Sunday night at Joanies Princess Card and Cash Checkers on 148th Street in Queens. Police said the lookout was yielding a knife and the three suspects took off with more than $65,000 in cash.
Surveillance video from the incident shows one of the suspects pull himself up and over the security window.
Police believe the crime spree started on Dec. 17, when two men got away with $4,000 from a Caribbean Airmail on Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn.
"This is a good area," Raymond Rodriquez, who works next door, said. "We've been working here for years. The place is safe but once somebody hits a place they'll do it again and if nobody does nothing about it they'll do it again."
Police say the men pulled the same stunt six days later at a Caribbean Airmail on Flatbush Avenue, getting away with about $3,000.
The owner, who was too frightened to show her face, was working at the time of the incident.
"They were waiting on the line so when the customers that was in front of them left, they pulled out a gun," the owner said. "They just took some money and put it under the thing, and so they took the money and they left."
The suspects are also wanted for stealing $14,600 from a Postal Express on Glenwood Road in Brooklyn.
"I'm surprised they keep that much money. I'm surprised it happened," customer Nasir Abddullah said.
Police have been reviewing tapes from the different locations, but each time the men kept their faces covered with hoodies or masks, Bauman reported.
All authorities can confirm is that they're looking for three men.
Anyone with information in regards to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
