Armed masked man sought in Huntington Station Pier 1 Imports robbery, Suffolk police say

Suffolk police on Sunday night were searching for an armed masked man who allegedly robbed a Huntington Station home-decor store.

Detectives with the department's Pattern Crime Unit said a mask man entered the Pier 1 Imports, 7 E. Jericho Tpke., about 7 p.m. Sunday and demanded money.

The man was carrying a handgun and forced employees and customers to the rear of the store, police said. He then forced an employee to open the store's safe and removed cash from the register drawers before leaving with an undetermined amount of money, police said.

Aviation and K-9 Units were dispatched, but as of 11:20 p.m. no arrests had been made.

Police describe the man as between 5 feet, 10 inches, to 6 feet tall, with a thin to medium build. He was last seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt.

Detectives said similar robberies have occurred around Suffolk since September, including robberies at Avenue clothing store in East Farmingdale on Sept. 7 and the store's Deer Park location on Oct. 26. Authorities said other similar robberies occurred at the New York and Company in West Babylon on Oct. 12 and Rainbow Shops in North Lindenhurst on Nov. 2. Similar robberies have occurred in Nassau since August, detectives said.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information can call 800-220-8477.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.