New photos released of wanted suspects in $1 million robbery beating 79-year-old woman looking at Queens jewelry store
New surveillance footage was released Wednesday showing the faces of two wanted suspects who police say beat up an elderly woman guarding her daughter’s Queens jewelry store, then fled with more than $1 million worth of trinkets.
The NYPD is asking for the public’s help in identifying and tracking down the duo along with two lookouts who waited outside the Flushing mall on the afternoon of February 22.
The 79-year-old victim was looking after the store, Diamond Collect on 39th Ave., while her daughter ran to lunch when one of the attackers appeared, disguised as an Amazon worker.
Her daughter had told the victim not to let any delivery guys in, and the thief can be seen in the video leaving the package outside the locked front door, then waving at the woman and walking away.
But when the victim opened the door a minute later to retrieve the package, the fake worker, who had stepped back and was lying in wait, pounced on her and an accomplice.
She was pistol-whipped and beaten before the accomplice smashed a display case, allowing him and the fake worker to steal $1.1 worth of jewelry.
“She keeps saying, ‘What if I don’t open the door? owner Eva Cheng, 43, said last week about her mother. “But I comfort her and say, ‘Mom, they’ve been waiting there. It would be even worse if she came back… They’d run into the two of them.’
Police previously released different images of the two attackers, but one had his own covered in a mask. The new images clearly show the faces of both alleged attackers. The cops also previously released surveillance footage of the two suspected watchmen.
The beating and other recent incidents prompted the NYPD and Mayor Adams to urge store owners to insist that customers remove their masks before entering so workers can get a good look at them.
That call was reiterated Monday as police persisted in their search for the gunman who, while wearing a hazmat suit, shot and killed an Upper East Side grocery store worker during a robbery. The murderer is still on the run.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.