Local Stores Robbed

Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating the perpetrator of at least seven robberies in Morningside Heights.

Witnesses and police describe the perpetrator as a short, dark-skinned Hispanic or black male in his mid-50s with salt-and-pepper hair and “a thick Hispanic accent.” Several witnesses said he entered with his hands in his pockets, simulating a weapon. One storeowner said he visibly presented a handgun, and another was stabbed with a knife.

Police have gathered that the suspect usually strikes in the evening at small, independent stores without customers that often contain only one female employee.

On a few occasions, witnesses said he entered the store, left, and returned when customers exited.

The suspect attempted to rob the Liberty House clothing store, located at 2878 Broadway at 110th Street, on Thursday, but fled after employees took action. He ordered the six employees and two customers to the back of the store and demanded that the cashier place money in a bag, co-owner Cathy Hawkins said. But the suspect ran away without any money when one employee—who identified herself only as Amy—snuck out the front door and screamed for help.

“At first, I didn’t know what was happening. Arielle [another employee] said, ‘Wait, this only happens in the movies,’” Hawkins said. “Amy was the savior of the day. She really saved the robbery, and she didn’t have a gun or knife of her own.”

The suspect also robbed a yarn store at 974 Amsterdam at 108th Street in November, and stabbed the owner when she refused to comply. The suspect, after having already entered and left when there were customers, reentered with his hand in his pocket, put his arm around the store’s owner, and threatened her for money.

“When I saw he had a knife, not a gun, and that he was smaller and older, I pushed him off me. He charged back around, hit me and missed, and stuck the point of his knife into my stomach,” said Dona Flam, who described the suspect similarly to police and other witnesses, but noted she did not believe it was the same perpetrator.

Most storeowners, judging based on their limited experience with this type of crime, reacted with surprise to the recent phenomenon. “It’s unfortunate. We know there are the homeless sometimes, and on occasion you get the crazies coming out. We’ve had shoplifting before, but this is just kind of extreme,” said Dominique Bell, manager of Aerosoles. The shoe store at 2913 Broadway at 114th Street was robbed by the suspect on two different occasions—last week and in December of last year.

“Thank God he hasn’t hurt anybody, but let’s get him. He’s known to us—he’s walking around undetected and blends in with the neighborhood,” said Carol Puzone, owner of Bazaar de la Paz, a furniture store at 2662 Broadway between 101st and 102nd streets that was robbed around 6 p.m. on Jan. 2.

Jim McShane, Columbia’s vice president for public safety, emphasized the isolated nature of these incidents, citing statistics that the 26th Precinct, which is bound by W. 110th and W. 133rd streets west of Morningside and St. Nicholas avenues, had one of the lowest records of crime in 2007 in the city. “What happens is people get this false impression that crime is up because there are one or two incidents,” he said.

The University’s Department of Public Safety has left the investigation up to the New York Police Department. “These are private stories. Columbia is not the police force. We supplement the police, and we are their eyes and ears ... but it’s the police department that is the agency primarily responsible for investigating these crimes,” McShane said.

Police said the investigation is ongoing, and numerous officers were patrolling the area in pairs Thursday night. Police ask anyone with relevant information to call 1-800-577-TIPS.

daniel.amzallag@columbiaspectator.com.