May. 25, 2023 By Bill Parry
Police from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood are looking for a knife-wielding crook who robbed the same Middle Village bodega on consecutive days last earlier this month.
On Thursday, May 18, the suspect entered the convenience store at 63-18 Woodhaven Blvd. at around 10:30 a.m. and brandished a knife towards the 28-year-old man behind the counter. The alleged perpetrator removed $1,000 in cash and assorted lottery tickets before running off northbound on Woodhaven Boulevard, police said. There were no injuries reported as a result of the heist.
Investigators believe the same man hit the same store nearly 14 hours earlier, entering the shop at around 8:30 p.m. and threatening a 28-year-old worker with the knife and then taking $1,500 in cash and assorted lottery tickets before fleeing the location. An NYPD spokesperson was unable to say if the same worker was behind the counter during both robberies.
Photo courtesy of NYPD
The same suspect struck in Rego Park on Wednesday, May 15, entering a bodega at 92-32 Queens Blvd. Police from the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills reported that the man walked behind the counter and pulled his knife on a 54-year-old man at the register. He grabbed $600 in cash before running off eastbound on Queens Boulevard. The worker was unharmed, police said.
The NYPD released video surveillance of the suspect on May 25.
He is believed to be between 30 and 40 years old and has a medium complexion. In all three robberies, the he was wearing a black leather baseball cap, a black hooded jacket, jeans and black sneakers, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.