Cops: Hempstead woman tried to steal from tot

A Hempstead teen accused of trying - and failing - to steal jewelry from a young boy was arrested Tuesday, Nassau police said.

Police say Dominique Mack, 17, spotted a 4-year-old boy with his mother at Choice Pharmacy on Fulton Street on Saturday. He wore a gold chain around his neck, and when his mother wasn't looking, Mack yanked at it repeatedly, police said.

The chain didn't break and the boy began to cry. Police said Mack told the boy's mother that their jackets had gotten stuck together, and then she left the store.

The mother saw that the boy had swelling and redness around his neck and he was complaining of neck pain, police said. Mack was later identified using store surveillance tapes and charged with attempted robbery, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

She will be arraigned Wednesday in First District Court, Hempstead.