Silly Robber, Tricks Are For Kids

Winston Cox and Steven McLeod were arraigned and pleaded not guilty today to attempted murder and robbery charges linked to a hair salon shootout with an off-duty NYPD officer.

On Oct. 23, Cox walked into the Sabine's Beauty Salon, at 320 Franklin Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and with the aid of two accomplices – McLeod, 19, and Nephertiti Earl – ordered the employees and customers into a back room and demanded money, authorities said.

One of the salon's customers, off-duty police officer Feris Jones, identified herself and ordered Cox, 20, to drop his weapon. Cox opened fire, though no one was hit by his shots. But officer Jones returned fire, shooting the gun right out of Cox's hand and then shooting the lock on the door, impeding the attempted robber's exit.

In a madcap chain of events, Cox then was forced to break through the salon's window, after which all three suspects fled the scene. Cox was later caught and arrested in Lafayette Garden Houses, after police followed a trail of blood he left in the street.

All three suspects pleaded not guilty, despite a videotaped confession, property recovered from the robbery, bloody clothing and the gun found in Cox's apartment.

If found guilty, Cox faces 40 years to life in prison.