EAST VILLAGE — Police are looking for a man they say has been robbing neighborhood nail salons with threats of gun violence, first on April 15 and most recently on June 12.
The man entered the Jay Nail Corporation at 780 Broadway on April 15 at around 8:10 p.m. and approached a female employee, sticking his hand in his pocket and stating that he had a gun, police said.
When he demanded money from the cash register, the woman complied, and he grabbed around $2,500 before fleeing the shop in an unknown direction, police said.
The suspect struck again on June 12 at Il Girasole Nail Spa at 13A E. Fourth St. at around 8:35 p.m., according to authorities.
The suspect entered the shop and approached a female employee, again sticking his hand in his pocket to simulate a gun and demanding she open the cash register or he would shoot her, police said.
The woman opened the cash register and the suspect took around $700 before fleeing in an unknown direction, police said.
Police have released surveillance footage of the suspect which shows him threatening a salon employee with a simulated gun.
Police describe the suspect as a man between 35 and 50 years of age, standing somewhere between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2, and weighing 170 to 210 pounds.
The man was last seen wearing a black coat, green shirt, green pants and a green cap, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1(800) 577-TIPS (8477).
