A suspect accused of shooting at NYPD police officers moments after he and another man robbed a Mount Vernon gas station attendant told investigators the gun went off accidentally when he dropped it, according to court records.
Jamaire Robertson, 28, was arrested Friday, Aug. 29, on federal charges, 10 hours after the robbery on Mount Vernon Avenue and the subsequent shooting that brought several law enforcement agencies to the city’s southwest corner to search for the suspects.
“Those willing to use guns and violence to terrorize our community and put law enforcement lives at risk should expect to face serious consequences,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “Anyone who disrupts the safety of New Yorkers and the dedicated officers responsible for keeping us all safe will be swiftly brought to justice.”
According to court documents, Robertson spoke with investigators and initially denied any involvement in the robbery. He then acknowledged involvement but insisted he was forced into participating by the second suspect and his associates, claiming he did not know them.
At 5:30 a.m. that day, two men with guns accosted an attendant at the Gulf station on Mount Vernon Avenue, pushing him up against a wall and taking his wallet and $500 to $600 before fleeing down South Bond Street, according to a criminal complaint by FBI Special Agent Phillipe Goulet.
Surveillance video showed Robertson wearing a black hoodie and black pants and the other man was wearing a white hoodie and dark shorts.
According to the complaint, the two split up after crossing a bridge along South 14th Avenue near the Bronx border. NYPD officers with the Bronx Larceny Squad were in the area, heard a description of the suspects and spotted Robertson running down Pearl Street.
Gunfire exchanged
As they got out of their car, he allegedly shot at them and they returned fire. Nobody was hit and Robertson made his way to the back of 29 Pearl St. before getting away.
Video footage later reviewed by law enforcement showed Robertson getting out of a black BMW at 5:10 a.m. and entering 707 East 242nd St. He came out of the apartment building moments later as the second suspect got out of the car and the two walked into Mount Vernon towards the gas station.
Video showed Robertson returning to the building at 6:25 a.m. wearing only a blue T-shirt and underwear. Late that morning, video showed him stuffing items in a plastic bag and throwing it into the trash chute. The bag was later recovered and found to include the blue shirt.
Robertson was arrested just after 3:15 p.m. outside the building. The second suspect had not been arrested as of Wednesday afternoon.
Robertson told investigators that the second suspect provided him with the gun and told him to point it as they approached the gas station attendant. He insisted the gun went off accidentally when he discarded it as the NYPD officers approached him near 29 Pearl St.
The gun was recovered there and the black sweatshirt he was believed to be wearing was also recovered nearby..
Robertson was charged with Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and possession of a firearm during a violent crime. He appeared Saturday in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Parker, who ordered him detained.
He faces up to 20 years in prison on the robbery charges and a minimum of 10 additional years on the gun charge.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Suspect in Mount Vernon robbery denied firing at NYPD officers
Reporting by Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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