VIDEO: Robbers loot Bensonhurst grocery stores for thousands in cash and wares

A duo of crooks robbed two Bensonhurst grocery stores in May, pretending to have a gun and pilfering more than $5,000 in cash and merchandise.

On Monday, May 1 at around 3 a.m., the two unidentified men entered a grocery store near 66th Street and 17th Avenue. One of the suspects simulated a firearm inside of a bag while a 64-year-old store worker was pushed to the floor. The suspects then removed $100 from the victim’s pocket and fled westbound on 66th Street in a dark-colored sedan.

In a second robbery on Thursday, May 25 at around 4:45 a.m., the same suspects entered a grocery store near 86th Street and 17th Avenue while simulating that they possessed a firearm. One of the suspects forced a 54-year-old store worker to the ground while the other suspect took $5,000, multiple scratch-off lottery tickets and four packs of cigarettes. The suspects then fled on foot toward 85th Street.

Following the second incident, police discovered that three of the stolen scratch-offs had been redeemed by an unidentified man at a grocery store on the corner of Cortelyou Road and East 21st Street in Flatbush, and by an unidentified woman at a grocery store on the corner of Ninth Avenue and 29th Street in Chelsea.

The suspect who simulated the gun in both incidents is described as a black male, 5’9”, with a medium build and in his 30s. During the second robbery, he wore a brown hooded sweatshirt with a striped left sleeve and orange writing on the back.

The second suspect is described as a black male, 5’11”, with a heavy build and in his 30s. Both suspects wore stocking masks during the robberies.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.