Street thugs violently attack, rob security guard
Brooklyn NY April 24 2020
A pair of surgical masked-robbers punched an 83-year-old man and held a gun to his head in the elevator of a Brooklyn building — a terrifying attack that occurred even after the victim told the heartless thieves he wouldn’t resist.
Startling surveillance video released by cops showed Joseph Greene’s April 13 ordeal.
According to police, Greene was on his way home from his job as a pharmacy security guard when he went to a check-cashing store to get money orders to pay the life insurance bill for himself and his wife.
The two muggers, both wearing surgical masks and white gloves, stood outside and then followed him to the lobby of the apartment building near MacDonough and Thomas S. Boyland Sts. in Bedford-Stuyvesant about 2 p.m.
“After we went into the elevator, one of them said, ‘Old man, old man, give me what you got,’ ” Greene recounted. “I said, ‘You’re gonna rob me at my age? I’m 83. Take whatever you want.’ ”
Greene was holding an umbrella and he also wore a mask. One of the robbers punched him in the head, and he crumpled to the floor.
“The other guy pulled out a gun and put it to my head,” he said. “They started running through my pockets.”
The crooks took the victim’s wallet with two money orders worth $150 inside, along with IDs and his Electronic Benefits Transfer card, and bolted west on MacDonough St., authorities said.
“They got off on the third floor,” Greene said. “They left me on the floor of the elevator. My change was all over the floor, and they left me a 20 [dollar bill] they didn’t realize was there. … I prayed that God would help me.”
He was treated for minor injuries.
Just over 30 hours earlier, two robbers pulled off a similar crime in a building on E. 38th St. and Avenue L in Flatlands, ambushing a 27-year-old man in the lobby and pistol-whipping him. Police said there’s no indication the two crimes are linked.
“If they find them, I want them jailed. Get rid of them so they don’t do this to anyone else,” Greene said.
Greene, who has eight grown children and several grandchildren, said he’s worked the security guard for about three decades, ever since he retired as a building super.
“That was a sucker punch and he withstood it. My father is strong,” said his son, Winston Greene, 54. “They are some crazy people. We want these guys caught.”
Cops released surveillance images of the suspects and asked the public’s help identifying them and tracking them down. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
