B’klyn bank & run Elderly man forced to hand over $900 from ATM
An elderly Brooklyn man was kidnapped outside his home and forced at knifepoint to withdraw $900 from his bank account, police said Thursday.
Pedro Colon, 77, told the Daily News that he had just finished shopping and was on his way back to his home near Avenue N. and E. 48th St. in Flatlands around 3 p.m. Sunday when the suspect cornered him.
“I need help!” the suspect yelled before forcing Colon into his home, according to a police account.
“As soon as I got home, he pushed me inside,” Colon said. “I put up a fight. He was a young guy, strong, muscular.”
Colon said he battled with the man for several minutes, and defended himself with his cane.
“It wasn’t doing any good,” he said.
The crook — who wore a face mask, apparently in observance of pandemic rules — forced Colon upstairs, pushed him to the ground and scooped up his wallet, which had $8.
The money was not enough, so the suspect asked if he had any gold, Colon said. He had none.
“He told me there was somebody after him, and that he had kids to feed,” he said.
That’s when the suspect made a phone call, possibly to an accomplice, and grabbed one of Colon’s kitchen knives, the victim recalled.
He forced Colon into a car and drove to a Chase Bank on Flatbush Ave., police said.
Colon said the suspect forced him to withdraw $900 from an ATM and hand it over.
“After that he pushed me into a phone store and told me to wait there. Then he left,” Colon said.
Colon went to another store nearby and called police.
The robber ditched the car, which police suspect was stolen from New Jersey, cops said.
“I was scared, very scared, still am scared ... Every place I go I had to look around and make sure no one is following me,” Colon said.
Colon said the bank will reimburse him — but he’s still out the $8 that was in his wallet. “What I had in my wallet is lost,” he said.
Police said the suspect had a dark complexion, and was between 20 to 30 years old.