Cops: Baldwin man arrested after attempted gas station robbery

A Baldwin man was arrested just after midnight Monday after he tried to rob a gas station at knifepoint but was thwarted by a worker, police said.

Douglas Franco-Martinez, 39, of Village Avenue, was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and fourth-degree possession of a dangerous weapon, Nassau County police said, after the attempted robbery late Sunday of a Mobil on Grand Avenue in Baldwin.

Police said Franco-Martinez walked into the Mobil, flashed a knife and demanded cash.

However, as he reached for the money from the register, police said the 28-year-old attendant stopped him, suffering a minor hand injury in the process.

Failing to get the cash, Franco-Martinez fled the scene, police said. He ran north on Grand Avenue, but was soon stopped and arrested by First Precinct officers at 12:01 a.m. Monday, police said. The employee was treated at the scene.

Franco-Martinez will be arraigned Monday in First District Court, Hempstead.