YORKTOWN HEIGHTS- The investigation into Friday’s armed robbery in the Jefferson Valley Mall parking lot in Yorktown, which left two people with non-life-threatening injuries, is now focused in Pennsylvania.
Yorktown Police reported Saturday evening that detectives were working with authorities in the Keystone state who secured the vehicle believed used by the suspect to flee the mall.
A police spokesperson added: “Although the suspect was not operating the vehicle and is not currently in custody in Pennsylvania, our investigators continue to pursue every available avenue of information and evidence in an effort to identify, locate, and ultimately make an arrest.
At this time, investigators believe the victims were specifically targeted and followed from another jurisdiction before the suspect and vehicle returned to Pennsylvania.”
On Friday afternoon 9-1-1 calls sent Yorktown Police and State Police to the busy shopping center off Route 6 in Jefferson Valley.
Police discovered the suspect described as a Hispanic man standing 5 feet 8 inches tall, of medium build with short black hair and wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with his face covered with a black mask, accosted the couple after brandishing a handgun and taking an undetermined amount of money before fleeing the scene operating a black stand-up scooter.
A hot-line message broadcast on police radios throughout Westchester and Putnam sent patrols from the Westchester County Police Department, Westchester County Police Aviation Unit, Carmel Police Department and Putnam Sheriff’s Department to the scene as well as roads near the Putnam-Westchester border since the suspect was last seen headed towards Mahopac on Route 6.
As police choppers flew overhead, officers scoured the area around the mall for the suspect who eluded authorities.
Anyone with information, or who was in the area at the time and saw anything suspicious, is asked to call Yorktown PD at 914-962-4141.