Cops: Robber fled, left son in crashed car

A fleeing robber in New Cassel on Friday left his 5-month-old son behind after the getaway car crashed, Nassau police said.

Officers eventually caught up with and arrested the robber, Joseph Fountain, 27, and an accomplice, Shawndell Wright, 29, both of Hempstead, and later returned the unhurt baby to his mom, police said.

The baby had been a passenger in Fountain and Wright's 2002 Hyundai about an hour earlier, at 5:55 p.m., when the two decided to pull over, get out, and rob two other men walking near Sixth Street and Second Avenue in New Cassel, just south of the Northern State and Wantagh State parkways, police said.

During the knifepoint robbery, they left the baby in the car and punched one of the victims in the head and face, police said. Fountain pilfered through the victims' pockets and stole cash, police said.

Wright then fled on foot and Fountain drove off in the Hyundai, police said. During the hurried getaway, the car struck a curb and the car's front tire flattened.

Canine and helicopter officers found Wright and Fountain on Swalm Street and arrested them about 6:50 p.m.

Both men were charged with robbery. Fountain was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and child endangerment. They were arraigned Saturday at First District Court in Hempstead. According to court records, Fountain was ordered jailed on $300,000 bond or $150,000 cash, Wright, on $180,000 bond or $90,000 cash.

Neither man could be immediately reached for comment.

The victim who was punched was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.