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Two Men Pistol-Whipped During Jewel Heist Near Diamond District, Police Say

By  Sybile Penhirin and Janon Fisher | December 1, 2014 3:59pm 

 Police released photos of two men they said robbed a jewelry store in Midtown.
Police released photos of two men they said robbed a jewelry store in Midtown.
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NYPD and DNAinfo/Sybile Penhirin

MIDTOWN — A robbery crew pistol-whipped two men and stole jewelry and cellphones during a heist near the Diamond District Monday, police said.

The robbers beat an unidentified 25-year-old man in the face with a handgun and hit a 42-year-old man in the back of the head in the fifth floor stairwell of 17 W. 45th St. about 11:45 a.m. before fleeing with an undisclosed amount jewels, according to an NYPD spokesman.

"I heard a big commotion, people yelling and fighting each other," said Nuri Kocak, the owner of a jewelry repair shop in the building. " I called 911 when I heard the commotion. I think it continued in the stairway."

One suspect was wearing a green and gray jacket with a gray beanie and sunglasses while the other wore a gray sweatshirt with the word "Akademiks" emblazoned across the shoulders, police said.

"I saw two...people coming out of the building. One was bleeding from the eyebrow and the other one from the top of his head," deliveryman Marcus Oliver, 38, said.

"I see them coming outside and they say, 'Call the police we've been robbed, please call the police.' They looked scared."

Both victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.

Teodulo Rosales, a deliveryman for Antalia Turkish Restaurant on the ground floor of the building where the robbery occurred, said video surveillance from the eatery showed two men believed to be the suspects wearing hoodies and backpacks leaving the shortly before police arrived.

Monday's robbery was the second high profile heist in the Diamond District area in as many months.

On Nov. 11, two robbers believed to be working with an inside man robbed Watch Standard at 43 W. 47th St.

Rondu Frisby, 37, who goes by the nickname "Reef," was charged by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney with interfering with commerce by threat of violence and using a gun during a crime. Federal investigators are still looking for his accomplice Leon Fenner, 58, sources said.