Cops catch mail thief Flushing commuter
Suspect also busted for weapon and drug possession van stop returns
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The Downtown Flushing
commuter van stop has
returned to its original
location at 41st Avenue and
Main Street, announced the
New York City Department
of Transportation.
“The station was relocated
in 2017 to a temporary stop
on Sanford Avenue due to
the construction of the One
Flushing Development,” said
Nicole Garcia, DOT Queens
Borough commissioner, who
thanked City Councilman
Peter Koo and his office
for their assistance in
coordinating the relocation
with the community.
While the location at
Sanford Avenue offered a
viable temporary stop, DOT
moved the stop back to 41st
Avenue on Aug. 5, after the
Photo via Google Maps
development’s opening. DOT
will continue to work with
local stakeholders as the
new curb space is updated.
“Commuter vans offer
a great alternative to the
city’s more traditional
modes of transportation,
and offer competitive prices
and convenience in the
busy downtown Flushing
transportation hub,” Koo
said. “Thank you to the
DOT for working with our
community to make sure
this transition period goes
smoothly as we relocate the
bus stops and coordinate
with city agencies and
local businesses.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by email at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
Robert Aranbayev caught on a Ring Doorbell camera Photo courtesy of NYPD
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Two northeast Queens
precincts worked together
to arrest Fresh Meadows
man, who was initially
wanted for mail theft but was
later charged with several
other crimes.
According to the 111th
Precinct, the neighboring
109th Precinct arrested 28-
year-old Robert Aranbayev
on Aug. 7. In addition to
stealing mail and packages,
the Queens District Attorney’s
office charged the suspect
with criminal possession of a
forged instrument and weapon
and drug possession.
On July 30, the 111th
Precinct posted images
of Aranbayev on Twitter,
asking the public if they could
identify him.
A week later, the precinct
posted that cops had arrested
Aranbayev near Cherry
Avenue and Main Street
in Flushing.
A criminal complaint from
the DA’s office said that Police
Officer Andrzej Maziarz saw
Aranbayev in the driver’s
seat of a parked silver Infiniti
with “excessive window
tints.” Upon approaching the
car, Maziarz said he detected
a strong marijuana smell
emanating from the vehicle.
The report said that the
cop recovered two aluminum
foil packets and a glass pipe
of heroin, a vial containing
five oxycodone pills and 17
buprenorphine strips, three
glass pipes — two containing
methamphetamine and one
attached to a bottle of the
same drug — and a scale with
cocaine residue.
Upon further inspection,
he also found a straw with
a quantity of cocaine and a
black switchblade knife. A
second police officer, Shane
Jacobs, recovered a plastic bag
of cocaine from Aranbayev’s
pants pocket.
Police said that Aranbayev
was in possession of a forged
Department of Transportation
handicap permit, which bore
a different watermark and
color than standard DOT
permits. The suspect allegedly
admitted, “someone made it
for me.”
Maziarz recovered a
Visa Vanilla debit card with
no name and re-embossed
numbers as well as three
Hudson Valley checks and one
Sterling Bank check from KM
Construction Inc. Aranbayev
was also in possession of
several other credit cards
and checks belonging to
different people.
Detective Michael Russo
reportedly ran the car
through an NYPD credit
reader and found that the
numbers encoded on the card’s
magnetic strip did not match
the numbers on the front of
the card.
Kevin Thurman, a
representative of Lemle and
Wolff Company and legal
custodian for KM Construction
Inc. confirmed that Aranbayev
is not an employee for the
company. Thurman added
that the suspect did not have
the permission or authority
to take, remove, possess or
exercise control over the
checks in his possession.
Aranbayev was charged
with criminal possession of
a forged instrument in the
second and third degrees,
three counts of possession
of stolen property in the
fifth degree, five counts of
possession of a controlled
substance in the seventh
degree, unlawful possession
of marijuana and criminal
possession of a weapon in the
fourth degree.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by email at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
260-2583.
An illustration of the Flushing van commuter stop location
Courtesy of DOT
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