Cashier, 91, punched in chest during Rite Aid robbery

A man punched a 91-year-old Rite Aid cashier in East Northport in the chest Thursday when she tried to stop him from stealing money in the cash register, police said.

The cashier, Flo Critelli, said the suspect walked up to her register at 10:55 a.m. and handed her a dollar bill for an Easter marshmallow candy that costs 54 cents. When she opened the cash register to give him his change, the cashier said the man grabbed the money in the register. Critelli she put her hand on top of his in an attempt to stop him.

That's when the suspect punched Critelli in the chest and ran out of the store, police said.

"I was a little shook up and that's about it," she said in an interview after the robbery.

"I regret that I didn't hit him in the head," she said. "I had the scanner right there."

The suspect has circle tattoos on his fingers, said Det. Sgt. Richard Auspaker of the Second Squad.