Cops: Driver, Good Samaritan thwart Mister Softee robbery
Taner Yalcin, right, is the Mister Softee driver who was held up at gunpoint by a guy who jumped in his truck as he was idling at a red light in Centereach. He was assisted by a Good Samaritan, Michael Rhatigan,left, who tackled him. (Oct., 2, 2011) Credit: Steve Pfost
A Mister Softee driver was forced to dispense more than ice cream when a man who appeared to be armed jumped into his truck as it idled at a red light in Centereach.
But the alleged robber was soon tackled and wrestled to the ground by a man driving by, police said.
Mister Softee driver Taner Yalcin, 29, of Coram, said he was stopped at Hawkins and Nicolls roads about 7:30 p.m. Saturday on his way back from a day selling ice cream when he saw a movement near his truck.
“I checked the mirrors, and I saw some man like he’s going to jump inside,” said Yalcin, a Mister Softee driver for about five years.
The man, who police identified as Robert Martone, 42, of Centereach, dove through the ice-cream truck’s order window and pushed what looked like a gun in Yalcin’s face, demanding money.
After Yalcin emptied his pockets of about $60, he said the man took the cash and jumped out through the same window, breaking the truck’s light with his foot.
Meanwhile, across the street, Michael Rhatigan, 48, of South Setauket, was returning from dinner with his wife and 10-year-old son when he saw the Mister Softee truck stopped at the light.
“I’m thinking, ‘I’m diabetic, but man, I would love Mister Softee right now,’ ” Rhatigan said. Then he noticed a man running in front of the truck and down Eastwood Boulevard.
“It didn’t look right to me,” Rhatigan said.
As the Mister Softee truck made a U-turn to follow the man, Rhatigan said he drove his car ahead of the truck to try to reach the man, who had by then fled into nearby woods.
After telling his wife and son to stay in the car, Rhatigan said he got out and sprinted toward the man, yelling, “Hey, what’d you do to that Mister Softee truck?”
Rhatigan said the man started running, and Rhatigan gave chase, tackling him once the two made it back onto the street.
Yalcin pulled up alongside the two, jumped out and helped subdue the struggling man until police arrived.
Martone was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery. The gun turned was a fake, police said. Martone was scheduled to be arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip on Sunday.
Rhatigan, who said he works as an air-conditioner mechanic, said he never thought twice about getting involved.
“I just had a sixth sense [that] something was wrong and somebody needed help,” he said. “I’m a simple man, I like to help out others. I was just trying to be a good citizen and do the right thing.”
