How many criminals does it take to rob a deli? More than five, as a handful of suspects learned the hard way in Kew Gardens on Friday.
A quintet of suspects was collared by cops around 3 a.m. after allegedly attempting to burgle JK Deli on 71st Avenue and Kissena Boulevard. According to police, the suspects made off with $12,000 stolen from the bodega's ATM, 3,518 scratch-off lottery tickets, 162 packs of cigarettes and 49 boxes of cigars, allegedly hauling their loot through a hole in the roof, from which they hoped to make their getaway.
It might have worked, too, if the suspects weren't so utterly dreadful at hiding. Upon arriving at the scene, cops saw the group scatter from their initial hideout on the building's roof. They arrested one in the elevator of a neighboring building, and two were plucked from the leaves of nearby trees. The fourth didn't bother hiding at all, and was cuffed after "a brief struggle." A short time later, the fifth suspect—a 15-year old boy—was found waiting in an apparent getaway car, where he, too, was arrested.
The suspects were identified as Robert Martin, 27, Sean Martin, 19, Jose Rosario, 25 and Christopher Aulet, 21, in addition to the 15-year-old, whose name was withheld due to his age. The first four were charged with burglary, criminal possession of stolen property and possession of burglar's tools, on account of the hammers, pry bar, drill, flashlight and propane torch police also found at the scene. The car-bound teen was charged with burglary and criminal possession of burglar's tools.
