Store clerk assaulted in Cedarhurst

Lotto machine damaged; suspects made anti-Muslim remarks

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A man and woman allegedly caused at least $4,000 in damage and threw merchandise at a store clerk at the Shell gasoline station at 408 Rockaway Turnpike in Cedarhurst at 9:45 p.m. last Saturday, according to police.

 The couple entered the store and asked the clerk for slushies, an ice-flavored beverage. The clerk said they do not make them. Both subjects shopped in the back of the store.

They wanted to purchase items with an EBT card and the clerk had to deny this request because of what they were purchasing, Detective Lt. Richard LeBrun, commanding officer of the Nassau County Police Department Public Information Office, said.

The female subject began throwing miscellaneous items at the clerks and becoming angrier, the man and woman, both described as black, then made anti-Muslim statements and threatened to kill the clerks, LeBrun said.

The clerk asked them to leave and as they were leaving, the man then pushed a Lotto machine off the counter, which damaged the device. The male suspect also threw a six-foot metal rack and two anti-freeze bottles at the clerks. No injuries were reported, according to LeBrun.

The male suspect was identified as wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts, a backwards baseball cap and eyeglasses. The female was identified as wearing a white t-shirt, pink shorts and long black braided hair, LeBrun said.

LeBrun said that the Nassau County Police squad is investigating this case as a “federal criminal mischief and as a possible bias incident due to the racial slurs, anti Muslim remarks and threats to kill both store clerks.”

Both were last seen getting into a dark-colored four-door sedan in the Starbucks’ parking lot at 316 Rockaway Tpke. and fled northbound on Rockaway Tpke. Police ask anyone with information about this incident to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 244-8477.