Perp In Fatal UES Jewelry Heist: "You Think I'm Kidding?"

Police sketch of jewelry heist suspect (NYPD)

More details have emerged about the Upper East Side jewelry store robbery that left a 71-year-old man dead. The gunman entered the R. S. Durant shop on Madison Avenue at around 12:20 pm yesterday, tossed canvas bags at victim Henry Menahem and another 49-year-old worker, and told the employees to stuff the bags with jewelry. When both workers refused, the perp popped the magazine out of his 9-milimeter semiautomatic pistol and showed them that the weapon was loaded, the Times reports. "You think I'm kidding? This is real," he said, according to NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

The robber then reinserted the magazine and fired a single shot, which struck Menahem in the chest. The gunman ordered the other employee to fill the bags, but the worker reportedly said: "I want to call 911 for an ambulance first." The perp refused, knocked a glass display case from the wall, and started grabbing diamond necklaces and other jewels. He then put one bag inside the other and fled south toward E. 75th Street. No arrests have been made.

Friends described Menahem as an Orthodox Syrian Jew and "a gentleman" who had three adult daughters and "many grandchildren." A woman who answered the door at his Long Branch, New Jersey home told the press: "The family is in shock." Though other publications report that the value of the stolen goods remains unclear, the Post says the perp got away with more than 20 pieces of jewelry worth more than $1 million. The robber is said to be a 5-foot-10 black man in his 30s last spotted in a blue wool coat, black shoes, gray pants, a scarf, sunglasses and black gloves. According to the tabloid, customers typically had to be buzzed into the shop, but the buzzer "was on the fritz."

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By Ben Muessig in News on January 28, 2010 10:05 AM

Comments [rss]

zincink

Either that is the world's largest turtleneck or he is actually wearing ALL of the said stolen necklaces

Snoopy

I KNOW HIM! That's David Rufin from the Temptations.

breasticles

Kudos to the police sketch artist - I'm sure he'll be recognized right away.

Snoopy

"You think I'm kidding?" Yeh bro I think you be jiving me and sheet.

That looks like an unlicensed firearm. You can get arrested and put away for three months by carryin shit like that.

Guest

"You think I'm kidding?"

yes, he had really thought you were kidding. you may not have agreed with his opinion, but it's no reason to get aggravated like a stupid fucking idiot.

AnnaZed

I sense inside job as well, with maybe a motive to kill the man killed and the bling as payment. Broken buzzer? Not a chance.

JacqueMehoff

the security people inside job was the theme on tuesday's The Good Wife.

you sure he didn't say "this shit iz real" and shaking the camera because he's on a boat? and you mean the perp didn't rack the slide first like they do on TV and actually had a round ready to fire in the chamber?

potsmoker

inside job....

madison ave boutique luxury jewelry store lets in,,,uuhhmmm,,,person of color?

buzzer on the fritz...hahha yeah right.

most theives know exactly what jewelers know, that diamonds are artificially inflated and hoarded to give the appearance of value.

20 pieces worth one million, is like $80,000 on the hock.

plus the bigger stones have identifiers lasered into the girdle. good luck.

airtech1

They were re-enacting a Paul Haggis script, I'm afraid.

As for giving up the jewelry to save his own life -- not that more viable of an option. The owner still would've gotten shot

Snoopy

"lets in,,,uuhhmmm,,,person of color?" That could be taken as a racist remark. Look at the drawing again. He could have been an aspiring rapper looking to pick up some bling.

freddynyc

These people doing what they do best -f*ckers...

JenChungsBaby

I would have given it up so fast, I would have buried that guy in jewels.

Funny how the other worker thought it would be OK to call 911 in the middle of an armed robbery.

And investigate anyone who knew the buzzer was broken -- like any locksmith etc. who may have been called to fix it.

Snoopy

It's a wonder the other worker didn't ask the perp if he could borrow his cell phone to call 911 and save the expense of using his own.

Snoopy

When did the NYPD return to charcoal drawings? Do they use out of work SVA students?

Buzzer on the fritz? Sounds like an inside job to me.

Of course it's over a million worth of gems. How many cubic zirconia carats is that?

eyekantspel

Not that it excuses the gunman in any way, but the employees sound like complete idiots.

S.K.

If only the owner had his own gun, to send this criminal away.

ktinnyc

You've been watching too many movies. Drawing on someone with some that has the drop on you is a good way to get everyone killed.

GOP

Not according to Gus Augusto.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Harlem-Store-Owner-Kills-Two-Robbers-With-Shotgun-53168297.html

ktinnyc

I know that story and the robbers in the appliance store was pistol whipping another employee when the owner pulled up the shotgun. They didn't have the gun trained on the shooter. Big difference.

ProcedureTurn

Sorry to say, but these wrokers were idiots. THe place is insured. THe guy has a gun. No one wouldve be nshot if they complied. And to think after one gets shot he says to call 911 and not hand over the rest of the loot. Wow. Talk about greedy. Apparently money and jewlery is more valuable than life. Incredible. This could have ended much different.