Detectives from the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows are still looking for a quartet of robbers who targeted commercial businesses across the area this month. Investigators believe they are the same crew that worked with the precision of a pit crew in ripping off three businesses in an astonishing seven minutes on the night of Friday, Sept. 1, according to the NYPD.
The crew struck again two nights later in the confines of the 109th Precinct in Flushing when the four men entered Super Deli, located at 144-10 Northern Blvd. in Murray Hill on the night of Sunday, Sept. 3.
Police say one of the suspects went behind the register and demanded a store employee open it. The worker complied once the perpetrator tugged on his waistband as it he had a firearm, and then removed approximately $5,000 in cash before they ran out of the store in an unknown direction.
No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
The crew struck two more times on Saturday, Sept. 9 with three of them entering the Jaa Deli, located at 49-04 111th St. in Corona, just across from Terrace on the Park, in the confines of the 110th Precinct.
Police say one of the men jumped over the counter and removed around $5,000 in cash from the register before they ran out of the store in an unknown direction. Once again, there were no injuries reported.
That incident occurred about 12 minutes after they hit a stationary store back in the 107th Precinct, when two of the men entered Meadows Stationary, located at 61-46 188th St. in Fresh Meadows, near the Long Island Expressway, and walked to a back area where the cash registers area and removed $2,190 dollars in cash, before driving off northbound on 188th Street in a vehicle that was later recovered, police said. There were no injuries during the incident.
The NYPD released video surveillance of the suspects as the hit the most recent commercial establishment.
All four suspects wore hooded sweatshirts, including one with a NASA logo across the chest, and they each wore face coverings.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
The 107th Precinct reported 104 robbery cases so far in 2023, 20 fewer than the 134 reported robberies at the same point last year, a decrease of 22.4%, according to the latest CompStat report.