March 8, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
Police have released video footage of a man suspected of robbing two Dollar Tree stores at gunpoint within 24 hours last month — one store in Sunnyside and the other in Middle Village.
The footage shows the suspect — described as between 20 and 30 years of age — brandishing a gun in front of a worker inside one of the locations. The perpetrator then takes off his backpack while standing in front of a large black safe.
Police say the suspect hit the Dollar Tree store at 78-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village first at around 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 26.
He entered the manager’s office and demanded cash from a 52-year-old employee. The worker complied and handed over around $3,300 to the suspect who then fled the scene on foot.
The following day the suspect held up the Dollar Tree store at 39-09 Queens Blvd. in Sunnyside at around 3:30 p.m., according to police.
The assailant walked into the store and demanded cash from a safe. He then took more than $1,300 from a cashier before fleeing the scene on foot, police said.
No injuries were reported at either scene.
The suspect, who is of medium build, was last seen wearing a black-colored jacket, an orange and red hoodie, dark jeans, black sneakers and a black face mask. He had a gray bag.
Anyone with information in regard to these incidents 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 at @NYPDTips.