12 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 6, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
police beat COMPILED BY EMILY DAVENPORT, CARLOTTA MOHAMED, BILL PARRY AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
109th Precinct
Flushing & Whitestone
Bank robber strikes
in Whitestone
Police are asking for the public’s assistance
in identifying a man wanted in
connection to a recent bank robbery in
Whitestone.
Th e suspect entered the TD Bank at
148-08 Cross Island Pkwy. at 6:05 p.m. on
Nov. 30 demanding cash from the teller,
authorities said.
Th e employee complied and placed
approximately $1,771 inside an envelope,
and the suspect fl ed the location in
an unknown direction, law enforcement
sources said.
On Dec. 3, the NYPD released an image
of the suspected robber, who’s described
as a black man standing 6 feet tall,
approximately 35 years old, and weighing
205 pounds. He was last seen wearing
a multi-colored (camoufl age) baseball hat
and a black hooded sweater.
Call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS
with any info on the case.
WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO.
“Old World Craftsmanship”- With Over 40 Years of Reliable Service.
Basement Waterproofing Brickwork
Exposed "Aggregate Concrete”
Pavers • Masonry
For More Information Contact: Arthur DiBiase��
��������������Mason Contractor 718-767-0072��
Licensed (# 808097) & Insured.
������������������������
Mail fi shers reeled in
Two men who allegedly stole mail out
of United States Postal Service mailboxes
on the streets of Forest Hills and
Richmond Hill found themselves in
court last week, prosecutors announced
on Nov. 30.
Alvaro Martinez, 28, of Manhattan
and Luis Velazquez, 22, of the Bronx
appeared in Queens Criminal Court
on Nov. 29 before Judge Toko Serita
for arraignment on charges including
third-degree burglary, fi rst-degree criminal
tampering, third-degree criminal
possession of stolen property, fi rst-degree
identity theft and possession of burglar’s
tools.
According to Queens District
Attorney Richard A. Brown, Martinez
and Velazquez are accused of using
makeshift “reels” made out of household
items such as shoestrings, juice bottles
and glue traps to try and steal mail left
in the USPS mailboxes.
Law enforcement sources said
Velazquez was caught on security camera
footage fi shing from a mailbox at the
corner of 64th Avenue and 108th Street
in Forest Hills at 4:35 a.m. on Oct. 29.
Video camera footage that police
obtained showed Martinez allegedly
stealing mail in a similar fashion from a
blue mailbox at the corner of 62nd Drive
and 108th Street just before 4 a.m. on
Nov. 17. Prosecutors said that Martinez
is shown allegedly placing something
inside the mailbox, then retrieving that
item along with several envelopes.
Law enforcement agents caught
Velazquez and Martinez red-handed at
a blue USPS mailbox located at the corner
of Leff erts Boulevard and Jamaica
Avenue in Richmond Hill just before
3:50 a.m. on Nov. 28.
Moments later, a U.S. Postal Police
offi cer opened the box and discovered
that the shoestring was attached to a
juice bottle covered in glue. It’s the type
of makeshift device commonly used by
thieves in mailbox fi shing schemes.
Pair sought for gift
card robbery
Cops are looking for a duo who robbed
a man aft er they sold him gift cards on a
Flushing street.
According to police, at 7:24 p.m. on
Dec. 3, a 31-year-old man met with
an unidentifi ed man outside of 33-46
Farrington St. to buy a number of
Macy’s department store gift cards for
$3,500. During the exchange, the suspect
handed over a box that had 27 gift
cards and the victim paid him $3,500
in cash.
Shortly aft er, authorities said, a second
unknown man approached the victim
and lift ed his shirt, revealing the butt
of a handgun tucked into his waistband.
When the second perpetrator asked
about what the victim had in his pockets,
law enforcement sources noted, the
victim said that he only had his cellphone
and the gift cards. Th e thieves
took the victim’s property and then fl ed
the scene on Farrington Street.
On Dec. 4, the NYPD released video
footage of the two suspects. Cops
described one of the perpetrators as an
Asian man standing 5 feet, 8 inches tall
and was last seen wearing a blue hooded
sweater and dark-colored pants. His
partner is described as an Asian man
with eyeglasses, standing 5 feet, 8 inches
tall and was last seen wearing a dark-colored
hooded sweater and a dark-colored
jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to
call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-
577-TIPS. All calls are kept confi dential.
106th Precinct
Ozone Park
Duo sought for
violent robbery
Th e NYPD is searching for a man and
a woman they describe as persons of
interest in a violent home invasion in
Ozone Park last month.
Police said the duo struck on Nov.
20, entering a residence near Liberty
Avenue and 103rd Avenue around 6:30
p.m. where they waited for a 50-year-old
man to return home.
Once the victim entered his home, the
individuals approached him and hit him
in the head with a baseball bat until he
lost consciousness, police said. Th e suspects
removed $3,000 in cash and two
credit cards and then fl ed, according to
the NYPD.
Just 20 minutes later, at least one of
the suspects entered Zone Glass, located
at 113-18 Atlantic Ave. in Richmond
Hill, by utilizing a key, but left the store
with no proceeds, police said.
Around 11 p.m. the same night, the
two individuals attempted to use the victim’s
credit card inside a Walmart store
located at 77 Green Acres Rd. in Valley
Stream, L.I., according to authorities.
Police identifi ed one suspect as
Amanda Rodriguez, who is described as
a 26-year-old Hispanic woman who is 5
feet, 7 inches tall and 120 pounds with
brown hair and brown eyes. Th e unidentifi
ed male suspect is of medium build
with a beard, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to
call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-
577-TIPS. All calls are kept confi dential.