Patriot
NES Member
Long Island
Shot bodega owner dies
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA, NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER
[email protected]
June 13, 2007, 12:59 PM EDT
A Queens bodega owner shot in the face during a stick-up has died of his injuries.
Family members were with Bolivar Cruz, 56, when he died Wednesday morning, said Andrew Rubin, a spokesman for Jamaica Hospital.
Tuesday, police said the shooting was possibly the work of a violent holdup crew that has robbed more than a dozen small businesses since March.
News of the pattern -- which now numbers 17 robberies and includes one other shooting -- was not released until Tuesday, raising questions about why the NYPD did not notify the public, as it often does by alerting the media.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD's top spokesman, said the Detective Bureau made an "investigative decision" not to alert the department's press office. It was not clear, however, what factors went into that decision.
Regardless, police now say they are looking for three men responsible for a string of strong-armed hold-ups in southeastern Queens from Rosedale to South Ozone Park and also including Springfield Gardens, Jamaica, St. Albans, Kew Gardens, Queens Village, Hollis and Richmond Hill.
The suspects have struck in various combinations -- sometimes two men, sometimes three -- with masks or bandanas sometimes worn to cover their faces.
The most serious incident was the most recent, with Cruz, and a father of seven, on life support at Jamaica Medical Center after he was shot in the face Monday night, apparently as he pulled out his own gun in a failed attempt to thwart the three suspects.
Police said the men confronted Cruz inside his shop, Kennedy Mini market, on 135th Avenue, at 9:30 p.m.
Another employee was in the shop but did not see the shooting, police said, so it was not entirely clear if the suspects saw Cruz's unlicensed .380 semi-automatic pistol, which was on the ground next to his body when police arrived.
Friends said he may have gotten the gun after his daughter was shot in the leg during a robbery last year, though police could not immediately confirm that account.
All day Tuesday, family and friends poured into Jamaica Medical Center to visit the gravely wounded Dominican Republic native.
"His face is swollen – you could see where he was shot," said Culema Gonzalez, who credits Cruz with hiring her when she needed a job. "He's clinging to life, but he's close to death. "We're all devastated."
Just 10 minutes before Cruz was shot, the suspects showed up at Allen Grocery, a mile and a half away in Richmond Hill.
Two suspects stayed outside, according to Willys Marte, 21, a clerk who was working the cash register at the time while his cousin and a third employee also were working.
The third suspect, wearing a stocking over his head and a white hooded shirt, ran in, jumped the counter and urged everyone to "get down!" Marte said.
The suspect rifled through the register, then forced Marte to open the Lotto machine, which held more cash, taking about $1,200 total.
At that point, Marte said, the gunman emerged from outside and cocked his gun. But a bullet fell out, Marte said, and the suspects fled.
Later, Marte said, police retrieved video from the store's surveillance system.
Police said the pattern dates back to March 17, when a store worker in Rosedale was robbed.
Most of the robberies went smoothly, with no injuries and the suspect making off with varying amounts of money, from petty cash to amounts ranging from $800 to $2,000.
A store worker on Merrick Boulevard was punched in the face during a robbery on May 2, a day in which the suspects also struck on Guy Brewer Boulevard. Another worker was hit in the head on May 6 during a robbery on Francis Lewis Boulevard.
The other shooting incident happened early in the pattern, on March 26, when a Jamaica store worker scuffled with the suspects and was shot in the left leg. His injury was not serious.
Shot bodega owner dies
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA, NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER
[email protected]
June 13, 2007, 12:59 PM EDT
A Queens bodega owner shot in the face during a stick-up has died of his injuries.
Family members were with Bolivar Cruz, 56, when he died Wednesday morning, said Andrew Rubin, a spokesman for Jamaica Hospital.
Tuesday, police said the shooting was possibly the work of a violent holdup crew that has robbed more than a dozen small businesses since March.
News of the pattern -- which now numbers 17 robberies and includes one other shooting -- was not released until Tuesday, raising questions about why the NYPD did not notify the public, as it often does by alerting the media.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD's top spokesman, said the Detective Bureau made an "investigative decision" not to alert the department's press office. It was not clear, however, what factors went into that decision.
Regardless, police now say they are looking for three men responsible for a string of strong-armed hold-ups in southeastern Queens from Rosedale to South Ozone Park and also including Springfield Gardens, Jamaica, St. Albans, Kew Gardens, Queens Village, Hollis and Richmond Hill.
The suspects have struck in various combinations -- sometimes two men, sometimes three -- with masks or bandanas sometimes worn to cover their faces.
The most serious incident was the most recent, with Cruz, and a father of seven, on life support at Jamaica Medical Center after he was shot in the face Monday night, apparently as he pulled out his own gun in a failed attempt to thwart the three suspects.
Police said the men confronted Cruz inside his shop, Kennedy Mini market, on 135th Avenue, at 9:30 p.m.
Another employee was in the shop but did not see the shooting, police said, so it was not entirely clear if the suspects saw Cruz's unlicensed .380 semi-automatic pistol, which was on the ground next to his body when police arrived.
Friends said he may have gotten the gun after his daughter was shot in the leg during a robbery last year, though police could not immediately confirm that account.
All day Tuesday, family and friends poured into Jamaica Medical Center to visit the gravely wounded Dominican Republic native.
"His face is swollen – you could see where he was shot," said Culema Gonzalez, who credits Cruz with hiring her when she needed a job. "He's clinging to life, but he's close to death. "We're all devastated."
Just 10 minutes before Cruz was shot, the suspects showed up at Allen Grocery, a mile and a half away in Richmond Hill.
Two suspects stayed outside, according to Willys Marte, 21, a clerk who was working the cash register at the time while his cousin and a third employee also were working.
The third suspect, wearing a stocking over his head and a white hooded shirt, ran in, jumped the counter and urged everyone to "get down!" Marte said.
The suspect rifled through the register, then forced Marte to open the Lotto machine, which held more cash, taking about $1,200 total.
At that point, Marte said, the gunman emerged from outside and cocked his gun. But a bullet fell out, Marte said, and the suspects fled.
Later, Marte said, police retrieved video from the store's surveillance system.
Police said the pattern dates back to March 17, when a store worker in Rosedale was robbed.
Most of the robberies went smoothly, with no injuries and the suspect making off with varying amounts of money, from petty cash to amounts ranging from $800 to $2,000.
A store worker on Merrick Boulevard was punched in the face during a robbery on May 2, a day in which the suspects also struck on Guy Brewer Boulevard. Another worker was hit in the head on May 6 during a robbery on Francis Lewis Boulevard.
The other shooting incident happened early in the pattern, on March 26, when a Jamaica store worker scuffled with the suspects and was shot in the left leg. His injury was not serious.
