71-Year-Old Cellphone Store Employee Robbed at Knifepoint

‘Family is Everything’ Written on Knife-Wielding Suspect’s Hoodie

The NYPD is searching for this man in connection with a knifepoint robbery inside a Queens cellphone store. -Photo by NYPD

By Dan Gesslein 

Queens Voice

February 15, 2024

QUEENS - A man wearing a hoodie that had the words “Family is Everything” written on it, robbed an elderly cellphone store employee at knifepoint the NYPD said.

At around 2:45 pm on February 6, a man in a blue hoodie walked into a MetroPCS cellphone store at 86-24 Rockaway Boulevard. Cops said the man pulled out a knife and put it to the throat of a 71-year-old male store employee. 

The knife-wielding man took $150 cash off the worker and took cellphones from the store valued at $1,615, cops said.

The suspect wore a blue hoodie with the words "Family is Everything" written on it.

The NYPD released surveillance video which shows the suspect walking out of the store with a large shopping bag. The suspect is a male with a dark complexion. 

He was last seen wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, eyeglasses and a face mask.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips. 

All calls are strictly confidential.