via Chief Dermot F. Shea on Twitter
Nov. 27, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
Two men–an uncle and a nephew– have been taken into custody following a series of armed robberies in Queens yesterday that included the shooting of a Woodside Duane Reade employee.
Elgin Brack, 22, and Scott Brack, 50, now face federal charges in the alleged armed robberies of four convenience stores in in Astoria, Woodside and Jamaica over a roughly two-hour period on Nov. 26., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Elgin was separately charged with brandishing and discharging a firearm during the in-store robberies, which included the shooting of a 49-year-old employee at the 60-02 Roosevelt Ave. Duane Reade.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, say Scott, Elgin’s uncle, was behind the wheel of the car that took them to store after store during the spree.
“As alleged, the defendants struck four all-night commercial businesses in Queens in a span of fewer than three hours, including a Duane Reade store in Woodside where an employee was callously shot in the head simply for resisting the robbery,” said United States Attorney Richard Donoghue in a statement.
Dermot F. Shea, NYPD Chief of Detectives, described the two as “violent individuals” at a press conference yesterday.
Shea said the arrests were made using some “good old detective work” including locating and following vehicles. He noted that the case even went out of state, and that one of the two apprehended suspects has had an “interesting year.”
Court records show Elgin was arrested in June and charged with disorderly conduct.
The uncle and nephew duo are in custody following details released yesterday on the string of robberies through several Queens neighborhoods. Their first target was the Woodside Duane Reade, where Elgin tried to force the employee to hand him money from the register just before 3:30 a.m. The employee, however, was shot in the hand and face after shutting the register closed.
The Woodside Duane Reade was the only location where Elgin did not make off with cash, but he did steal more than $1,300 combined from the three other locations, including two Rite Aids and a 7-Eleven.
Shea said the two men targeted these stores during the early morning hours, where it was likely that only one employee would be on staff.
The Woodside Duane Reade employee was the only victim who suffered injuries during the four robberies. He was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital after the shooting, with Shea noting that he has survived the wounds thus far.
Article updated on Nov. 28 at 10:30 a.m.
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