Yonkers Insider: Yonkers Police Department Press Release: Yonkers Police Arrest Three Bronx Men for Brazen Jewelry Store Smash and Grab.

Surveillance Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq6falmIYQg

Yonkers, NY – On Thursday, May 12th, 2022, at approximately 5:20 PM, members of the Yonkers Police Department responded to the area of 28 South Broadway, at the Golden Square Jewelry store, on a report of a group of masked men breaking the front window with a sledgehammer; the men then fled the area in a dark SUV. Police were at scene within minutes and canvassing units located the fleeing SUV in the Park Hill neighborhood. Officers pursued the suspect vehicle on local streets before it crashed into a residential home retaining wall on Marshall Road just east of Birch Road. The four occupants abandoned the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot; officers continued to pursue. Two of the suspects were captured within minutes, and a third within an hour as they attempted to escape and conceal themselves in the wooded area adjacent to the Saw Mill River Parkway. A neighborhood perimeter was established in the Park Hill and Tibbetts Park areas as Yonkers Police and Westchester County Police continued to search for the fourth suspect. The scene at 28 South Broadway was cordoned off and a criminal investigation was initiated.

Detectives from the Major Case Squad, Crime Scene Unit, and Digital Forensics Unit responded to the jewelry store and interviewed subjects and witnesses, processed forensic evidence, and recovered surveillance video. Investigation has yielded that the four perpetrators, all residents of the Bronx, smashed the storefront window of the jewelry store with a crowbar and sledgehammer and removed a large amount of gold and jewelry from the front display, estimated by the storeowner to be worth about $100,000. A store worker attempted to stop the thieves with the same sledgehammer before they fled with some of the stolen items. Police pursued and ultimately apprehended three of the four suspects; the fourth suspect has been identified and additional arrests are anticipated. Investigators identified proceeds from the robbery within the crashed SUV. Detectives further believe that the suspects may have been casing another jewelry store on McLean Avenue earlier. One of the suspects, identified as ALSTON below, provided a false name in an effort to conceal a bench warrant for his arrest in relation to a New York City attempted murder charge in 2019.

Mayor Mike Spano stated, “Thank you to our tireless Yonkers officers who responded swiftly and courageously last night to apprehend the suspects. Let it be a clear, direct message to any and all criminals who think they can undermine our city -- we will find you and ensure you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law so not to terrorize our residents and businesses.”

Police Commissioner Chris Sapienza stated, “The Yonkers Police Department offers no quarter to criminals who engage in this blatant, lawless, and violent behavior. We will commit every resource to track them down, arrest them, and hold them accountable. I applaud the great efforts of our Police Officers, Detectives, and Supervisors, and our partners in the Westchester County Police Department, for apprehending three of the suspects as we close in on the fourth.”

The three arrested suspects are identified as Nykem ALSTON (aka Tyrese Robinson), a 21-year-old resident of the Bronx; Alfred LONG, a 35-year-old resident of the Bronx; and Alexander WILSON, a 21-year-old resident of the Bronx. ALSTON and LONG were each charged last night with Robbery 1, a Class B Violent Felony in the New York State Penal Law; Grand Larceny 2, a Class C Felony in the New York State Penal Law; and Burglary 3, a Class D Felony in the New York State Penal Law. WILSON remains hospitalized in a local area trauma center as a result of the vehicle crash and will be charged in the near future. ALSTON and LONG are expected to be arraigned later today in Yonkers Criminal Court and remanded to the Westchester County Jail. The case is being prosecuted by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. Additional information may be released as it becomes available.

NOTE: Booking charges are merely accusations and the defendant(s) are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.