EAST HARLEM — A man stole Cocoa Puffs, eyeliner, leggings and Ben and Jerry’s ice scream from a Rite Aid and pulled a knife on the employee who tried to stop him, police said.
The suspect, who is 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, walked into the pharmacy on 2155 Third Ave. on May 26 about 3:45 p.m. and headed straight toward the beauty aisle.
“I was keeping an eye on him because I had seen him at the store before,” said an employee who declined to give his name for fear of losing his job.
The employee shadowed the suspect around the store and saw him put the random assortment of items into a plastic bag. When the man tried to leave, the employee confronted him.
“I said, ‘Can we talk about what’s in the bag? I saw you,’” recalled the employee.
The two went into a back room while someone else at the store called 911. The thief grew more and more restless as the employee stalled and waited for police to arrive.
After a few minutes of waiting he pulled out a 4-inch knife. He told the employee, "You're done, I gotta leave. I'm going to stab you," according to the NYPD.
The employee tried to hide behind a door and told the man to leave.
“I was so nervous I didn’t know what to do,” the employee said. “I thought I was going to get stabbed.”
The man left the store before police arrived, with the knife in one hand and the bag of stolen goods in the other.
