Pill pop, pop, pop
Mall shooter also packed drugs: cops
The armed robber who caused a panic at the Roosevelt Field mall by shooting a bystander while trying to swipe a $19,000 Rolex is a jobless pill popper who posted a Facebook photo of the handgun believed used in the crime, authorities said Wednesday.
Oliver Lee, 21, of Queens did not have a license for the firearm, and had oxycodone pills on him when he was busted at the Long Island mall, said Acting Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter.
“The gun was purchased I believe about 11 years ago down South,” Krumpter said. “The defendant was [also] found in possession of, I believe it was 10 oxycodone pills.”
Krumpter and Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, meanwhile, praised a retired NYPD detective who wrestled the gunman to the floor during Tuesday afternoon’s botched robbery.
Kenneth Krug, who worked as a security guard at the Rolex shop, got into what they called “a life and death struggle” with the suspect, grabbing the gun so he couldn’t get off more shots after wounding one person.
“Kenneth Krug's actions can only be described as heroic,” Krumpter said. “Think about a violent struggle for 90 seconds over life and death, and that’s what it was about. The defendant was trying to gain control of his firearm while the store security was attempting to safeguard the weapon.”
After the retired cop grabbed the suspect’s gun, two mall security guards joined the fray, and offduty NYPD Inspector Kenneth Lehr jumped in to help handcuff the suspect.
Lee was arraigned on firstdegree robbery, firstdegree assault, weapons and other charges. He pleaded not guilty.
Krug declined to talk about the incident, saying he will have to testify before a grand jury about the case.
“He was apparently in the fight of his life,” said Mangano. “He was very brave. Obviously, that was a loaded gun. God knows what could have occurred. Kenneth Krug, thank you for bringing this perpetrator to justice.”
The unidentified 67yearold shooting victim, a mall employee who happened to be walking by on the concourse outside the shop, was expected to be released from the hospital later Wednesday after treatment for a shoulder wound.
The gunshot caused a panic at the mall, which was filled with holiday shoppers at the time.