Witness Helps Police Nab 4 Suspects In LI Bank, Gas Station Robberies
COMMACK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Four people were facing charges Friday in a three-week gas station robbery spree across Suffolk County.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, an alert witness was credited with foiling the crime spree.
The incidents took place between Dec. 29 and Jan. 22 in Commack, Deer Park, Huntington Station, East Farmingdale, Amityville, and North Amityville.
Three of the suspects were arrested last Friday after an attempted robbery at a Shell gas station on Commack Road in Commack.
Rukiye Ozturk was working the night shift at the gas station at the time, when she saw a masked man lurking outside. Customers also noticed.
Police said inside, the suspect gestured to a gun – indicating a hold-up – and then ran off toward a getaway car when the clerk did not comply. It was a familiar narrative, but the response was unusual.
"One of the customers follows him," Ozturk said. "I think he did a good job."
The alert customer followed the getaway car a short distance, and then called 911 with a solid description. Suffolk County police said it was a break in a dangerous pattern.
Following an investigation, investigation police arrested two men and a woman – Shabril Maxwell, 21, of Copiague; Douglas McKeefery, 30, of North Babylon; and Stacey Beck, 32, of Bay Shore.
A fourth suspect, 24-year-old Robert DiGrazia, was arrested Thursday. DiGrazia, who is unemployed and lives with his parents, was the last suspect to enter a plea of not guilty on Friday.
"These are people who are obviously desperate, who are brazen, and they're armed, so the danger cannot be understated," said acting Suffolk County police Commissioner Timothy Sini. "So clearing this pattern is terrific news."
The suspects are now accused in eight gas station and bank robberies, at times striking twice in the same day.
Suffolk County police said the uptick in bank and gas station robberies is fueled by heroin and gangs.
There were accolades Friday for the alert and quick-thinking good Samaritan who helped lead police to the suspects.
"He's a beautiful man -- I said thank you very much," said robbery victim Mustafa Bayraktar.
But some were not so sure that his actions were a good idea.
"He did a good thing but, I don't know, a little too much," one woman said.
And was it a safe move? Police warned that one should never try to foil an armed hold-up, but they said getting a good description of the suspect and the getaway car is exactly what witnesses should do. They said arrests in such incidents are up.
Suffolk County police are now partnering with Nassau County and FBI in working on unsolved holdups, so as to determine whether any of the suspects fit other crime patterns. They warned that it is good time to commit a robbery in Suffolk County.
