BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A trio of thieves held up a deli on Vernon Avenue during last month’s snowstorm, according to police.
Three men entered the Pioneer deli and grocery store at 4 Vernon Ave. at the corner of Nostrand Avenue at 6:25 p.m. on Jan. 23, with one suspect brandishing a gun and pointing it at the clerk, officials said.
A second suspect went behind the counter and grabbed $200 to $300 from the register, according to manager Fozi Nagi, 39, who was working with his 13-year-old nephew at the time.
“My nephew was here because one of my workers didn’t come that day because of the blizzard,” Nagi said.
“[My nephew] was scared a little bit but they didn’t hurt him or talk to him.”
When Nagi tried to block the thief at the entranceway to the counter, the man punched him in the face, he said.
The third man kept watch in the aisle, police said.
“I just told them, ‘Take whatever you want and don’t do nothing wrong, please,’” Nagi said.
When one of the men asked for more money and the manager told him he had nothing else to give, the suspect punched him again in the jaw before fleeing, Nagi said.
One of the men also grabbed some cigarettes that had fallen on the floor, he said.
The store had just re-opened in early January after seven months of renovations, according to the manager.
Police released video of the three men, showing them with their hoods up and faces covered.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477).
