RICHMOND HILL — A penny-pinching gunman who haggled with a Chinese restaurant worker over the price of a pork fried rice/chicken wing combo threatened the employee with a pistol even after getting his way, police and the manager said.
The suspect, who is a regular customer, went to pick up his order at the New Rong Hua Chinese restaurant at 131-19 Jamaica Ave. at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 and demanded to pay $5 for the meal that usually goes for $6.50, according to the manager, who only gave his name as David.
"He ordered food, and we said it was $6.50, and he wanted to pay $5," he said. "The employee [who was threatened] said 'No.'"
The man eventually paid the menu price, but continued to fume over the $1.50 difference, David said. The restaurant then gave him the meal for free to avoid the trouble.
The suspect stepped away from the counter, but returned waving his gun.
"I don't know why he pulled it out. He was just angry," David said, adding that this was the first time he had encountered a situation like this at the restaurant.
The suspect, who can be seen on police video holding the gun in his left hand and shouting at the cashier, is wanted for menacing, according to police.
The suspect — thought to be in his mid-20s, standing roughly 5-foot-10 and weighing 140 lbs — was last seen sporting a gold grill on his top teeth, black jeans, a black hoodie and a black San Francisco Giants hat, police said.
Police have asked anybody with information about the incident to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
