Crime

Man with knife robs V.S. pharmacy

Suspect strikes for sixth time

Posted

A man armed with a knife robbed the Crescent Pharmacy on Central Court in Valley Stream on Tuesday, fleeing with an undetermined amount of cash, according to Nassau County police.

The suspect entered the pharmacy, located next to Charlie Meany’s, and demanded money at 11:37 a.m. He then fled on foot north on Central Court.

Three employees were present at the time, but no customers were, police said. No injuries were reported.

The suspect was described as 6 feet tall, wearing a black jacket, black hooded sweatshirt, black mask, dark glasses, gloves and black pants.

The robbery comes after five similar incidents that occurred around Valley Stream between Feb. 9 and March 20. The first occurred on Feb. 9 in North Woodmere, where a suspect described as a black male between 5 feet 10 and 6 feet tall with a thin build reportedly robbed a Shell gas station, on Rosedale Road, while brandishing a large kitchen knife.

The same man, police said, then struck three times in Valley Stream. He robbed Evan’s Corner Candy Store, on Rockaway Avenue, on Feb. 24, where a struggle resulted in minor lacerations to a store clerk’s hand; North Central Liquors, on North Central Avenue, on March 10; and Dragon Garden, on Rockaway Avenue, on March 11.

A similar robbery was reported at Fortune Grocery on March 20. A suspect described as a black man, 5 feet 9 and wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, a black ski mask and gloves and holding a large knife, entered the store, at 246 N. Central Ave. in Valley Stream, at 8:20 p.m., police said. He told a 39-year-old male employee to hand over money from the register. The employee complied and the man fled on foot with an undetermined amount of cash, police said.

No injuries were reported in that incident. It was not immediately attributed to the same suspect as the previous incidents, but Detective Sgt. Bill Butler said patterns are always considered during investigations.

The Crescent Pharmacy robbery was not immediately attributed to the original suspect either, though that could change as the investigation proceeds, police said.

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UPDATE: Police are investigating Tuesday's robbery and the March 20 incident as being perpetrated by the same suspect.