Arrest in Assault of 91-Year-Old Rite Aid Cashier

Suffolk County Police have identified the man responsible for robbing a Rite Aid in East Northport and punching the 91-year-old cashier on March 11.

Nassau County Police arrested Shaun Collins, 34, on an unrelated case and notified the Suffolk County Police Second Squad that Collins was possibly the person wanted in the Rite Aid robbery.

Upon further investigation, it was determined that Collins did commit the robbery at Rite Aid, located at 577 Larkfield Road in East Northport, as well as a robbery of a Rite Aid in Miller Place on February 19, 2010 and a grand larceny on March 6, 2010.

Collins is incarcerated in Nassau County and will be arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip on a later date.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Below is the original release.

Incident:         91-Year-Old Woman Punched in Chest During Robbery

Location:        Rite Aid, 577 Larkfield Road, East Northport

Date/Time:     Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 10:55 a.m.

Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are investigating a robbery at a Rite Aid during which a 91-year-old woman was punched in the chest.

A man entered the Rite Aid, located at 577 Larkfield Road in East Northport, and approached the clerk to buy a candy bar. When the clerk, a 91-year-old woman, opened the cash register, the man reached into the drawer. The woman tried to stop the man and grabbed his hand. The man then punched the woman in the chest and fled with an undetermined amount of cash.

The suspect was described as a white male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall with a thin build. He was clean-shaven, with brown eyes and circle tattoos on his fingers. He was wearing a black baseball hat.

Detectives are asking anyone with information to call the Second Squad at 631-854-8252 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

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Authority:         Richard Dormer, Commissioner                                                            10-113579

                        Suffolk County Police Department                                                        KP/1500