Both robberies happened in Hempstead on Thursday, Dec. 21 before 5 a.m.
According to Nassau County Police, a 30-year-old man was getting gas at the Conoco Gas Station, located at 2 Hempstead Avenue, when the group pulled up in a black Kia.
Three 15-year-olds and one 14-year-old, all boys, got out of the car and ordered the man to hand over his belongings.
One of the teens allegedly displayed the airsoft gun as if it were a firearm. The man, in fear of his life, handed over $300 cash, and the teens hopped back into the Kia, driving away.
Not long after the first robbery, the group stuck again, this time targeting an 18-year-old man who was walking on Westminster Road near the intersection of Hempstead Turnpike, police said.
Using the same tactics as before, the teens demanded the victim to hand over his iPhone and headphones. They again fled the scene in the Kia.
Police later saw the car driving south from Virginia Drive to Benson Avenue, and attempted to pull the group over.
However, the teen driver refused to stop, and while the car was still moving on Stewart Street in Elmont, he jumped out of the car, leaving it to crash into a parked car.
The three other teens ran from the car after it crashed, and all four were eventually arrested after a foot chase.
According to police, the 14-year-old was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
An investigation revealed the “firearm” to be an airsoft gun and that the Kia had been reported stolen from a Hempstead resident earlier in the evening.
Each of the four teens were charged with:
- Robbery, two counts;
- Unauthorized use of a vehicle; and
- Possession of stolen property.
They are scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on Friday, Dec. 22
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