Man attacks gas station attendant with vice grips, robs him, police say

Nassau County police have arrested a Roosevelt man who they said robbed a gas station in his hometown after striking the attendant in the face with metal vise grips, knocking him unconscious during the 10 p.m assault Thursday and rifling through his pockets for money.

Vernon Lowe, 53, of Grenada Avenue, was charged with first- and second-degree robbery, second-degree assault, third-degree criminal mischief, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest, First Squad detectives said in a news release.

Lowe's bail was set at $500,000 bond or $300,000 cash during his arraignment Saturday at First District Court in Hempstead, according to online court records. He was represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County.

Police said the incident occurred at the Sunoco gas station at 465 Nassau Rd, after the attendant had finished pumping gas for Lowe, who was sitting in a car at the pump.

"The defendant then struck the victim in the face with a pair of silver-colored vise grips causing him to fall to the ground striking his head and briefly lose consciousness," police said, adding that Lowe then collected an undetermined amount of money from the victim's pockets and rode away on a bicycle, traveling east on Pennywood Avenue.

Police responded and searched the area, finding a bike on the lawn of a Pennywood Avenue home. Lowe ran from the house and officers chased and caught him, police said. 

The 51-year-old victim suffered cuts to his head and lips and was taken in a Nassau police ambulance to a hospital.