3 Teenagers Rob Kingston Shopkeeper

A group of three teenagers audaciously robbed a Kingston Avenue shopkeeper Wednesday afternoon, an alert Shomrim volunteer spotted them fleeing.

The incident occurred at around 2:45pm when a group of three black teenagers walked into the Simone’s Linen store on Kingston Avenue near Crown Street. Two of the suspects distracted the clerk while the third searched for something to steal, and ended up making off with her brand new android cell phone.

A Shomrim volunteer, who happened to driving up Kingston, spotted two of the thieves fleeing down Crown Street and knew something was not right.

Other volunteers were dispatched to search area stores and make sure that they were ok, and quickly discovered the theft. Police were immediately called and an attempt to peruse the suspects were unsuccessful and they got away.

Later, surveillance footage from the next door Post-Mark It, revealed just how cunning this group of thieves were. The victim identified all three thieves in the footage.

Shomrim noticed a lapse between the first suspect fleeing in one direction followed by the pair fleeing in another direction 45 seconds later, throwing off and confusing the attempt to apprehend them.

Police officers showed up in large numbers also in hope of catching them. Shomrim provided police a copy of the surveillance footage and a police report was filed.

A Shomrim coordinator asked CrownHeights.info to warn store workers to be extra careful with the weather warming up. “Be extra careful and mindful of who enters your stores, if you feel uncomfortable in any way don’t hesitate to call for help” he said.