Robbery suspect arrested after crashing stolen getaway car, police say

A Brooklyn man was arrested and charged with robbery after Nassau County police said he struggled with a female employee who tried to stop him from stealing items at a Rite Aid store Sunday morning in Bellmore, then crashed his stolen getaway car into a building in Freeport.

Arjumand Evans, 18, of Rockaway Parkway in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, was arrested following a brief foot pursuit and charged with second-degree robbery, third-degree robbery, second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree unlawful fleeing of a police officer, false personation, second-degree unlawful possession of marijuana, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, obstruction of governmental administration and two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Police said the robbery at the Rite Aid store at 2260 Jerusalem Avenue was reported at 10:52 a.m. Sunday.

According to detectives, Evans took undisclosed items from the store and fled without attempting to pay for them, then was involved in what police described as "a brief struggle" with a 28-year-old female employee who tried to stop him before fleeing the store and driving off in a white Volkswagen.

A short time later police said Evans crashed the VW, which had been reported stolen from Suffolk County on Saturday, into a building on Merrick Road in Freeport, where he abandoned the vehicle — only to be caught following a brief foot pursuit.

The building was not damaged in the crash, police said.

Police said the store employee suffered a facial laceration and was treated at the scene.

At an arraignment Monday in First District Court in Hempstead, bail was set for Evans at $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash, which was not posted, according to online court records. He was represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

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.”