3 suspects in custody after wild smash-and-grab caught on video at Yonkers jewelry store
YONKERS, N.Y. -- A smash-and-grab robbery that was caught on camera at a Yonkers jewelry store led to hours of drama as police pursued the suspects into a quiet neighborhood.
Police said the four suspects are from the Bronx and have criminal records. Three were in custody Friday.
The hard-working owner of Golden Square Jewelry told CBS2 he's outraged.
"They came, and there was fighting with them, grabbing the jewelry inside and pushing them outside," Tony Montana said.
Montana was cleaning up and adding up the value of what was stolen.
Thursday afternoon, brazen robbers used a crowbar and sledge hammer to smash Montana's display window and grab $100,000 worth of gold chains and diamond rings, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported.
Police said a suspect wearing a light-colored hoodie cut himself while grabbing for loot.
Inside the store, an employee decided to fight back. First, they swatted at the robbers from the other side of the glass. Then, they ran outside, grabbed a sledgehammer and pounded on the suspects' getaway car, damaging it as they drove away.
"We are outraged and of course sad. When you work so hard and somebody just come and do that to you, it does hurt," Montana said.
As bad guys go, these four suspects didn't exactly impress police with their planning or execution.
"This was a very bad plan. They were in the heart of the city during rush hour and attempted to flee with a vehicle with out-of-state license plates while wearing masks. So they were very easy to identify," Yonkers Police Commissioner Chris Sapienza said.
The suspects were easy to track to the Park Hill neighborhood, where they crashed the vehicle and fled. A manhunt collared three of them before the night was over.
"It's a reckless plan, which makes you think what else are these people prepared to do?" Sapienza said.
Police identified the suspects as Nykem Alston, 21, Alfred Long, 35, and Alexander Wilson, 21.
The suspects' vehicle crashed into a retaining wall of a home on Marshall Road near Birch Street, according to police. Wilson was hospitalized as a result of the crash, police said.
The NYPD has reached out to see if an April 29 smash-and-grab on the Grand Concourse was done by the same crew.