Queens man convicted in Melville pawnshop robbery

A Queens man was convicted Thursday  for his part in a 2017 theft in which he and another man dressed in hats and wigs and robbed a Melville pawnshop using a handgun and a sledgehammer.

Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said Friday  a jury had found Frank Alexander, 49, of Queens, guilty on first- and second-degree robbery charges. Both charges are felonies and carry a maximum combined sentence of 25 years in prison.

Alexander is scheduled to appear before state Supreme Court Justice William Condon for sentencing on Dec. 3.

Sini’s office said Alexander and Sykim Johnson, 35, also of Queens, put on disguises that included long wigs, large ruffled hats and gloves on Aug. 4, 2017. They entered GEM Pawnbrokers, 708 Walt Whitman Road, at about 5:42 p.m.

Alexander held the cashier at gunpoint while Johnson used a sledgehammer to break open cases containing designer jewelry, the district attorney’s office said. The pair fled with watches valued at $72,000.

A witness took photos of Alexander's and Johnson's license plate after becoming suspicious of their costumes and the sledgehammer. Police were able to use the information to track the car to Westbury.

Investigators said they found one of the wigs, which contained blood, inside the car. DNA evidence collected at the store and in the car linked Alexander and Johnson to the robbery, police said.

Johnson was arrested on December 27, 2017, and Alexander was arrested on January 18, 2018. Johnson pleaded guilty to 1st and 2nd degree robbery on July 12 and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 29.

Attorneys for the men could not be reached for comment.