Caught on video: Brazen, broad daylight smash-and-grab from car at a red light after visit to Roosevelt Field Mall
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A daring smash-and-grab heist took on a whole new meaning on Long Island.
The suspect used a tool to crack through a car window while the victim, unaware, was stopped at a traffic light.
It happened minutes from the Roosevelt Field Mall.
The shopper had just spent several hours - and hundreds of dollars - on a high-end Apple watch.
When driving away from the Roosevelt Field Mall, police said, the soon-to-be-victim was unaware that he was apparently being followed.
What happened next in North New Hyde Park, at an intersection with a red light, appears beyond brazen. In a matter of seconds, the burglar, using a center punch tool to smash the window with gloved hands, grabbed the bag with the pricey item. No one was hurt.
According to police, the suspect with the stolen merchandise ran back into his gray SUV being driven by a female accomplice. They fled eastbound on Evergreen Avenue.
"Maybe they need to get more police protection. It's very scary and alarming," one person said.
"The grab-and-go - that's not a good thing at all," said another.
"Now I don't shop at night," another said.
It happened during daylight, and is one in a series of crimes in recent months connected to the Roosevelt Field Mall.
"There was a day when Roosevelt Field, you would love to go there. And can I just say this? I have a granddaughter who got hurt there," shopper Cynthia Reeder said.
Reeder's granddaughter was punched in a food court brawl, she said.
CBS New York has received police releases about slashings, gunpoint robberies, a man exposing himself, groups nabbing handbags worth thousands and a jewelry store heist.
"We are out there. We are out there in numbers. We are out there in force. But, again, unfortunately many of these laws allow for these criminals to go free after they are arrested," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.
Blakeman said many mall crimes are being committed by repeat offenders from out of state.
Nassau County Police say the department "has a robust security detail of police officers and supervisors that are permanently assigned to the mall," and points out past smash-and-go crimes like these are part of a national trend.
They want any shoppers who witness anything suspicious or feel they are being followed to call 911 immediately.
CBS New York's calls to the mall have not yet been returned.