Rockville Centre man arrested after trying to rob two banks in 15 minutes, Nassau police say
A Rockville Centre man, who police said tried to rob two banks in a 15-minute span on Monday, has been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged two-week crime spree dating back to New Year's Eve.
Nassau County police said Major Case Bureau detectives charged Brian Quinn, 45, with two counts of third-degree robbery, attempted third-degree robbery, attempted third-degree burglary, fourth-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree grand larceny, and two counts of petit larceny.
During the alleged spree, police said Quinn stole three different vehicles, targeted the same pharmacy chain store twice and attempted to twice rob the same bank branch in Oceanside — the second time failing because, police said, a teller recognized him from an earlier successful robbery and refused to hand over any cash.
Quinn is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday in Mineola, police said. It was not immediately clear if he was represented by counsel.
Police said Quinn was arrested Monday afternoon in Hempstead, just hours after he attempted to rob a Chase bank branch in Oceanside and then robbed a Chase bank branch 2.1 miles away in Baldwin. Police said officers found a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee that Quinn has been charged with stealing and that he was located "in the vicinity" of that vehicle.
Additional details were not released.
Quinn is also charged with stealing a 2008 Honda Civic in Rockville Centre on New Year's Eve, and with stealing "merchandise" from a CVS pharmacy store on Atlantic Avenue in Oceanside on New Year's Day.
Police said Quinn stole items from a gas station at 2650 Long Beach Road in Oceanside, then robbed the Chase bank branch at 3285 Long Beach Road on Jan. 6. He fled the bank robbery with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.
On Friday, police said Quinn stole a 2007 Nissan Frontier in Roosevelt. He then tried to burglarize the same Oceanside CVS store he had hit on Jan. 1 on Sunday. That burglary was unsuccessful, police said, leading to the attempted burglary charge.
Police said Quinn attempted to again rob the same Chase bank branch on Long Beach Road in Oceanside early Monday, but said he fled empty-handed when a teller recognized him from the prior robbery. About 15 minutes later, police said, Quinn successfully robbed the Chase branch at 915 Atlantic Ave. in Baldwin.
A police spokesman said that led to information about the stolen Jeep, which then helped officers locate that vehicle and arrest Quinn.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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