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The suspect was wearing a black ski mask when he entered the store located in East Meadow at 2465 Hempstead Turnpike at around 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 and began concealing merchandise in his bag.
He exited the store without paying for the merchandise and was confronted by store security, Nassau County Police said, adding that security recovered the merchandise, "and the suspect directed physical threats towards them as he was leaving the scene."
A short time later, the same man, while still wearing the mask, approached a 47-year-old man in an adjacent parking lot of 2411 Hempstead Turnpike and demanded his belongings.
The victim refused to comply, and the subject threatened him with physical harm.
Officers located the suspect, Jonathan Hernandez, age 33, nearby, and he was arrested without incident.
Hernandez, a resident of the hamlet of Roosevelt in Hempstead, has been charged with:
- Robbery,
- Attempted robbery,
- Two counts of menacing,
- Petit Larceny.
- Two counts of Title 90 - Mask Transparency Act.
The “Mask Transparency Act” was signed into law in mid-August by Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
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