UPPER EAST SIDE — Police arrested a man who attempted to rob a deli on Lexington Avenue with a shotgun Tuesday morning.
Alexander Pierson, a homeless 24-year-old, was arrested at the 19th Precinct on Wednesday at 8:40 p.m., a day after walking into Elim Deli Cafe, at 851 Lexington Ave., with the gun and demanding money at the counter, the NYPD said.
Pierson told customers not to move and to keep their hands up, according to Fernando Garcia, the shop's manager.
When Pierson cocked the gun, it malfunctioned and he fled the store without any money, Garcia and the NYPD said.
Two customers and three employees followed him out, Garcia said, and Pierson threw the defective gun into the garden at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer at the corner of East 65th Street and ran toward Fifth Avenue.
Pierson was charged with robbery and criminal possession of a weapon. He has no prior arrests, according to police.
