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In Yonkers, officers responded to the Golden Square Jewelry Store on South Broadway at approximately 5:20 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, after a group of masked men broke through the front window with a sledgehammer and crowbar.
Yonkers Police Department spokesperson Dean Politopoulos said that after the smash and grab robbery, the men fled in a dark-colored SUV, which was located in the Park Hill neighborhood by responding officers.
During the subsequent pursuit, the driver crashed into the retaining wall of a residential home on Marshall Road, east of Birch Road, he said, and four suspects abandoned the vehicle and attempted to flee from officers on foot.
Two of the suspects were captured within minutes, Politopoulos said, and a third within an hour as they attempted to escape and conceal themselves in the wooded area adjacent to the Saw Mill River Parkway.
The fourth remains at large, though he has been identified, police said.
According to the owner of the jewelry store, the stolen gold and jewelry taken from the front window was worth approximately $100,000, despite an employee at the store attempting to stop them with the same sledgehammer used to break in.
A store worker attempted to stop the thieves with the same sledgehammer before they fled with some of the stolen items.
The three arrested suspects:
- Nykem Alston - also known as Tyrese Robinson, age 21;
- Alfred Long, age 35;
- Alexander Wilson, age 21.
Alston and Long were each charged with:
- First-degree robbery;
- Second-degree grand larceny;
- Third-degree burglary.
Wilson remains hospitalized as a result of the crash and will be charged in the future. Alston and Long were scheduled to be arraigned in Yonkers Criminal Court on Friday, May 13, and remain remanded in the Westchester County Jail.
“Thank you to our tireless Yonkers officers who responded swiftly and courageously last night to apprehend the suspects,” Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said in a statement.
“Let it be a clear, direct message to any and all criminals who think they can undermine our city - we will find you and ensure you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law so as not to terrorize our residents and businesses.”
More information is expected to be released by the Westchester County District Attorney, and additional arrests are expected to be made.
“The Yonkers Police Department offers no quarter to criminals who engage in this blatant, lawless, and violent behavior,” Yonkers Police Commissioner Chris Sapienza stated. “We will commit every resource to track them down, arrest them, and hold them accountable.
“I applaud the great efforts of our Police Officers, Detectives, and Supervisors, and our partners in the Westchester County Police Department, for apprehending three of the suspects as we close in on the fourth.”
This is a developing story. Check Daily Voice for updates.
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