Cops: Machete-wielding robber targeted victim

A man who was cut off and robbed of a large amount of cash by a machete-wielding man in Central Islip may have been targeted as he left his job at a local gas station, Suffolk County police said yesterday.

Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick said the unidentified man was driving on Expressway Drive South, near Gloria Boulevard, at about 2:50 p.m. Monday when a man in a 2000 light blue Honda Civic, reported stolen earlier in the day, waved a machete at the victim and demanded that he pull over.

The victim, in a 2003 white Nissan Altima, tried to drive away, but was cut off by the Honda, Fitzpatrick said. The Honda then stopped abruptly, causing the victim to rear-end the car. With both vehicles stopped, two suspects got out of the Honda and robbed the man, Fitzpatrick said.

The victim works at a local gas station and was on his way to deposit a large sum of cash in a bank for his job, police said.

Fitzpatrick said the suspects most likely staked out the gas station for some time before they robbed the victim, making off with thousands of dollars.

After the attack, two men left the Honda, which had been reported stolen from Hauppauge earlier Monday, on the side of the road and fled west on foot, police said.

The victim was treated at a hospital for a "nonlife-threatening injury" and released Monday night, police said.

"We are hoping someone saw the event and saw where they went," Fitzpatrick said.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers, 800-220-8477, or the Fourth Squad, 631-854-8452. All callers will remain anonymous.