By Joe Anuta
Two NYPD officers who work in the 112th Precinct were honored last week for chasing down a gun-wielding perp who has been charged with numerous armed robberies in Forest Hills.
“From time to time, things happen that remind us that the 112th Precinct is part of New York City,” said Deputy Inspector Christopher Tamola before handing out the Cop of the Month Awards for the precinct, which encompasses Forest Hills and Rego Park.
Officers John Feng and Keiran Tracy were on patrol around 2 a.m. Sept. 14 when they heard a report of an armed robbery in the nearby 110th Precinct come over the radio, according to Tamola, who is the commanding officer of the 112th Precinct.
The 19-year-old suspect from Brooklyn allegedly pulled a gun on a man walking near the corner of Woodhaven Boulevard and Hoffman Drive, Tamola said.
The perp said, “Give me your phone or I’ll shoot you,” according to the deputy inspector.
Just as the officers heard the call, they saw a man matching the suspect’s description run past their patrol car toward Hoffman Park, Tamola said.
Feng and Tracey chased after the suspect, who allegedly tossed a 9mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic handgun into the grass of the park as he ran, according to Tamola.
The officers chased down and cuffed the perp and then secured the park so a team of crime scene investigators could move in, Tamola said.
Based on information gleaned from the arrest and investigation, the perp was linked to other armed robberies in Forest Hills, the officers said.
Overall crime in the area is down from the summer months, Tamola said.
According to the NYPD’s crime stats, for all of 2011 until Oct. 16, robberies have dropped to 86 compared to 92 during the same time period from 2010, a decline of 6.5 percent.
Over the same period, though, several other areas of serious crime have increased, according to the NYPD.
There have been 10 rapes in 2011 compared to just three in 2010, an increase of about 233 percent, according to the stats.
There have also been 382 grand larcenies in 2011 compared with 305 over the same period in 2010, an increase of 25.2 percent, although auto thefts fell 5 percent from 80 in 2010 to 76 in 2011.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
