The NYPD is asking for the public’s help identifying the two people seen in this video who they say are sought in connection to an armed robbery that occurred inside a store on Fordham Road in Fordham Manor on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Video courtesy of the NYPD

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that arrests had been made in a separate attempted jewelry store robbery that took place in Fordham Heights on March 20, whereas the arrests in fact were in relation to an actual robbery of jewelry on March 5 in Fordham Manor. This has since been corrected and we apologize for this error.

Police said they arrested two people in connection with a commercial robbery that took place in Fordham Manor last month. The NYPD had been asking for the public’s help identifying the people seen in the attached photo who they said were wanted in connection to the incident.

 

As reported, police said that on Tuesday, March 5, at around 6.54 p.m., a 54-year-old male employee was approached by two people inside a store in the vicinity of 8 East Fordham Road. They said both people displayed guns and demanded “property.” They said the two then made off with around $100,000 worth of jewelry from the store, fleeing the location on foot and added that the victim was not injured.

 

The first individual was described as male, had a light complexion and a medium build. They said he was last seen wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black sneakers, and a black face mask.

 

The second individual was described as male, had a light complexion and a medium build. They said he was last seen wearing a black hoodie, gray pants, white sneakers, and a black face mask.

A woman behind the counter of the store did not want to talk when we visited the store after the robbery occurred, but was aware police had caught two people for it. She mentioned that on another night before the robbery, when she left work, someone had stolen her handbag and the person had not yet been caught.

On Saturday, April 13, pursuant to an ongoing investigation, police said that Angel Mendez, 25, of College Avenue in Claremont Village was arrested on Tuesday, April 2, at 7.15 p.m. in the confines of the 41st Precinct, which covers some or all of the neighborhoods of Hunts Point and Longwood. The precinct’s main shopping area is located on Southern Boulevard from Westchester Avenue to East 163rd Street.

 

Mendez was charged with one count of robbery. Police also said that Victor Martinez, 24, of Valentine Avenue in Fordham Manor had earlier been arrested on Wednesday, March 20, at 5.20 p.m. in the confines of the 52nd Precinct, which covers some or all of Bedford Park, Fordham, Kingsbridge, Norwood, Bronx Park, and University Heights. Martinez was charged with two counts of robbery.

Both men are deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law. Norwood News attempted to reach the suspects’ families and neighbors for comment but were unsuccessful.

 

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.