Police Arrest Brazen Bandit Who Hurled Wine Bottles At LES Clerk

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — A New Jersey man was arrested and charged Monday for a robbery rampage where he allegedly hurled wine bottles at a Lower East Side liquor store clerk and then pummeled two elderly employees at a West Village shoe store, police said.

Rickey Hayes, 61, of Newark, New Jersey was arrested Monday evening and hit with a slew of robbery, assault and criminal mischief charges for the Sunday crime spree.

The brightly-colored bandit — who wore separate highlighter-orange shirts in both incidents — first struck at Seward Park Liquors on Ludlow Street near Grand Street at 12:45 p.m. Hayes allegedly grabbed a wine bottle and threatened a 41-year-old employee, demanding he hand over cash from the register, police said.

The stickup turned violent when the worker refused and the robber rocketed the bottle at him. The clerk managed to flee the store, but the bandit returned to the register and swiped $200 before running off.

About an hour later the robber struck again, this time at Reno Fashion on LaGuardia Place near West Houston Street in the West Village. His brutal beat down on a pair of elderly shoe store workers began with a sucker punch to a 66-year-old man's head and then a flurry of kicks and punches to an 88-year-old woman.

Hayes allegedly smashed several glass jars and a large ceramic pot over the man's head. Both workers suffered cuts to their heads and were taken to Bellevue Hospital in serious but stable condition, police said.

Photos and video courtesy of NYPD