Armed crooks rob 13 victims in three NYC boroughs in crazed two-hour blitz: ‘In 24 hours, I’ll be out on bail’
A pair of gun-toting bandits robbed 13 people in three boroughs during a wild two-hour crime spree early Tuesday — only to crash their minivan as they were about to raid a fourth borough, police said.
One of the suspects boasted he’d be back on the streets in no time when he was arrested at the crash scene Tuesday morning.
“In 24 hours, I’ll be out on bail,” Carlos Perez, 24, vowed as he was put into a police cruiser in handcuffs, according to Fox 5 News.
His alleged accomplice, 34-year-old Alvin Valez, was nabbed a short time after, cops said.
A gun, which was brandished during the robberies, was recovered by cops from the minivan’s glove box.
The crime spree began in Queens just before 1 a.m. when the robbers rolled up in their white Toyota minivan and robbed two women on Alstyne Ave. near 104th St. in Corona, getting away with two cell phones and a necklace, cops said.
A short time later, the duo surfaced at the Woodside Motel on Queens Blvd. near 65th St., where they robbed two people of their cash and cell phone, police said.
The crooks then drove to Brooklyn, where they held up a man on N. 11th St. and Wythe Ave. in Greenpoint at 1:45 a.m. before going back to Queens, where they held up six people at an outdoor dining shed near 72nd St. and Broadway in Jackson Heights about 20 minutes later, cops said.
Their last two heists were in Manhattan, where they robbed a worker in a food truck outside Washington Square Park at 2:40 a.m., then snatched a bag with personal property off a woman at Seaman Ave. and W. 204th St. in Inwood at 3:10 a.m., cops said.
None of the robbery victims were hurt.
Police quickly launched a manhunt and at about 4 a.m. cops in an NYPD helicopter spotted the minivan in the Bronx, where it had crashed near Cedar Ave. and W. 179th St. in University Heights.
Investigators believe the duo were robbing anyone they could find on the street for quick cash and valuables and were planning to continue their spree in the Bronx when they crashed.
Charges against the men, who are both from Manhattan, were pending Tuesday evening.
One of them is on parole for murder and the other for a gun conviction, cops said.
Perez seemed to take a more modest tone as he was walked out of the 110th Precinct stationhouse in Corona late Tuesday night.
“Nothing, nothing happened. I didn’t do it,” he shouted to reporters as he was taken to central booking.
“Ya heard? Ya heard? I’m innocent,” he added.
Valez twice said he’s innocent, too.
New York’s bail laws have been highly controversial since the Democratic-led Legislature approved an overhaul in 2019 that limited pretrial detention for most nonviolent crimes and ordered judges to impose only the “least restrictive” means of ensuring defendants return for court.
Gov. Hochul has said she wants to tweak the bail reform laws to give judges more leeway to impose bail.
“What we’re talking about now, which is a thoughtful common-sense approach, is that in serious crimes ... the judge should have more discretion and be able to consider more factors,” she said on Jan. 24.
