Staten Island man charged in Queens armed robberies, police say

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A West Brighton man is facing multiple charges after police linked him to two separate armed robberies in Queens, authorities said.

Robert Petty, 29, of Delafield Avenue, was arrested just before Thanksgiving in connection with a Staten Island robbery.

While being held on Rikers Island, detectives connected him to two additional armed robberies in Queens — one involving a teenager in a subway station and another involving a marijuana dealer, according to police and court records.

Detectives said that Petty robbed a 17-year-old on the northbound platform of the Union Turnpike-Kew Gardens subway station on Oct. 29.

Petty approached the teen asking for directions, then told him, “I was going to mug you on the train” and demanded $50 in cash, according to the criminal complaint.

When the victim said he did not have cash, Petty allegedly pulled out a black firearm and ordered him to send $100 through a cash app. The transaction failed, prosecutors said.

Petty then forced the teen out of the station at gunpoint onto Queens Boulevard to a Chase Bank ATM, where the victim withdrew $140, according to authorities. Surveillance video captured the incident, and the victim later identified Petty as the suspect, authorities said.

In a second incident on Nov. 7, Petty and an accomplice who has not been apprehended were purchasing marijuana from a dealer on Sutphin Boulevard when Petty allegedly pulled a black firearm from his backpack, according to police.

Authorities said that Petty was holding $350 in cash for the transaction when he pointed the gun at the dealer and said, “You know what time it is, don’t make it worse than what it is.”

The accomplice then took $400 in cash, an Apple Watch, Apple AirPods, an electric scooter and a pair of boxing gloves from the dealer before the two fled, police said.

Detectives later reviewed surveillance footage from a security camera at a location on Allendale Street, and the victim identified Petty as one of the robbers. The stolen property was valued at more than $1,000.

Petty was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on charges of robbery in connection with the Kew Gardens incident. He was also arraigned on a second complaint charging him with robbery and grand larceny for the Sutphin Boulevard incident.

Bail was set at $10,000 cash or $30,000 bond in each case. Petty is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 7.