A Far Rockaway man was arrested after he allegedly stole merchandise from a North Lawrence store and had drug paraphernalia on his person.
On June 20 at 9:20 a.m., a 41-year-old employee at Dollar Tree, located at 294 Burnside Avenue, observed a male subject enter the store, take items off the shelves and allegedly conceal them in his bag. The male subject was seen passing all points of sale without paying for the items. When the worker approached the subject, he allegedly shoved her to the floor and left the scene on foot. A short time later, police located the subject in front of 299 Rockaway Turnpike.
Brandon McFadden, 64, was placed into custody without incident. Further investigation revealed McFadden was in possession of two glass pipes that had a white powder-like residue believed to be crack cocaine, along with the merchandise he allegedly stole from the store. No injuries were reported at the scene.
Police charged McFadden with Robbery in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree. He will be arraigned on June 21 at First District Court in Hempstead.