Crime & Safety
NYC Man Handcuffed, Threatened Clerk During Robbery: Police
Police say he was part of a crew that robbed a smoke shop in February.
BELLEROSE TERRACE, NY — A Queens man was arrested Thursday in connection to a robbery that occurred in Bellerose Terrace in February.
According to police, at 6:15 a.m. on Feb. 5, Anthony Yates, 54, of Queens Village, and two other men entered Its Lit Smoke Shop, located at 225-06 Jamaica Ave. Police say the three men forced a 36-year-old man working at the store into a back room. According to police, Yates handcuffed the man and threatened to shoot him while the other two men stole merchandise and money from the store.
The three men then fled into a waiting car, being driven by a fourth person, police said.
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After an investigation, Yates was located in Manhattan on Thursday and placed under arrest.
Yates is charged with second-degree robbery and second-degree unlawful imprisonment. He is scheduled to be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Friday.
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Police ask anyone with information about the burglary to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS, or call 911. All callers will remain anonymous.
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