Police Searching For 'Dangerous' Carjacker On Long Island
FLORAL PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police on Long Island are seeking help from the public in tracking down a carjacker they say is "armed and dangerous."
Around 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Valley Stream, a knife-wielding suspect carjacked a man sitting in his 2014 Chevy Equinox at the corner of Rottkamp Street and Oliver Avenue, police said.
"The suspect entered the passenger side of the vehicle," Nassau County police spokesman Kenneth Lack said Monday. "The two men started to argue and exited the vehicle."
That's when the suspect pulled the knife on the victim, cops said. The suspect then got back into the SUV and drove off, according to police.
In the getaway, he crashed the SUV into a garage in a family's backyard at 200 Floral Parkway in Floral Park, police said. The carjacker fled on foot, cops said.
"Somebody driving the car very carelessly crashed into the building," the stunned owner of the home, who did not want to speak on camera, told CBS2's Scott Rapoport.
Damage to the garage and the stolen vehicle is extensive.
"Certainly, at this time of night, people are out and about, and he lost control of a car in a residential neighborhood," Lack told reporters, including WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs. "Extremely dangerous for everyone involved."
The suspect is described as a black man, 40 to 45 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall and 200 pounds. He has an unkempt beard and dreadlocks and was wearing a black jacket and black hat, police said.
"Obviously, he's a violent suspect who's willing to take people's property at knifepoint," Lack said.
The 33-year-old male carjack victim was not injured.
"It could have gone really bad," witness Therese Monteleone said.
The SUV was recovered and impounded for investigative processing.
Police are asking anyone with information about the carjacking to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.