Police: Man Robs Midtown Boutique, Holds Woman Captive In Basement
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- A disturbing robbery pattern that's been emerging in Brooklyn has police concerned the suspects are now hitting other boroughs. The ruthless crooks have been targeting women at high-end boutiques.
On Tuesday around 6:45 p.m. just a couple of blocks away from Grand Central, police said a suspect entered the Nora Gardner women's wear pop-up store on 47th Street to rob, terrorize, and eventually injure the young woman working there alone.
The suspect grabbed the victim by the hair and dragged her into the basement to hold her captive, police said.
The victim, who did not want to appear on camera, told CBS2's Steve Langford she fought back, screamed, yelled and kicked, but the suspect managed to hold her captive for two and a half hours.
Her hands and feet were bound by wire and duct tape. She is now recovering from cuts to her knees and elbow. The suspect made off with some jewelry, electronic devices, and the victim's purse.
A few doors away, bartender Vanessa Collazo got off work that night about the same time the violent robbery was beginning.
"You would not think that something would happen around here like that it's scary," she said.
The victim said the suspect told her he had an accomplice positioned outside the store, just in case anybody might walk in during the robbery. The description sounds just like a recent spree of heists in Brooklyn targeting young women working alone in high-end shops.
Tyrone Addison works just across the street from the latest target of the apparent robbery pattern.
"For an area like this it's all business you know Lexington Avenue, Third Avenue, we would have thought nothing like this would happen," he said.