LONG ISLAND CRIME BRIEFS

WEST BABYLON/Slain girlfriend's cousin wins custody

A Texas woman whose cousin was fatally shot by a Kansas City Chiefs player who then killed himself has been given custody of the couple's infant daughter.

Jackson County Probate Commissioner Daniel Wheeler issued his order , awarding custody of 9-month-old Zoey Belcher to Sophie Perkins of Pflugerville, Texas. He said Perkins' home was more "stable" than that of Cheryl Shepherd, Belcher's mother, who was also seeking custody of the girl. He cited instances of police reports from Shepherd's home over the years and also noted that Zoey has mostly been living with Perkins.

Zoey was orphaned Dec. 1 when Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, of West Babylon, killed Kasandra Perkins, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and shot himself in front of coaches and the team's then-general manager.

Shepherd had been staying at the couple's Kansas City home and was there when Kasandra Perkins was killed.

MASSAPEQUA/Robbers climb drive-thru window

Seventh Squad detectives are looking for three suspects who robbed a McDonald's at gunpoint early .

A driver and two masked men forced themselves through the restaurant's drive-thru window, Nassau police said.

One of the suspects drove a late-model Nissan to the McDonald's at 5500 Sunrise Hwy. at about 3:51 a.m., and placed a drive-thru order, police said.

When the car came to the window to pay for the order, a female employee, 20, opened it. Two suspects on foot then forced their way into the restaurant through the window, police said. One of them, armed with a handgun, forced the employee to the floor, while the second demanded money from another employee, a woman, also 20.

The two men took an unknown amount of cash from the registers and office safe, police said, and then fled "through the same window in an unknown direction." The women, the only employees in the restaurant at the time, were not injured, police said.

Police also said they are looking for the driver but had no description. The two men wore hooded sweatshirts and bandannas on their faces, police said.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.-- GARY DYMSKI