2 Suspects In Custody Following Robbery, Shooting Outside Queens Hotel

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two suspects are in custody following a violent robbery last week where a mother was shot trying to protect her daughter.

The NYPD arrested John Howard and Donald Warren early Thursday morning after lifting fingerprints from two stolen vehicles. Authorities believe they carried out four robberies in Nassau County and five in New York City in recent weeks.

"These are very bad individuals, on lifetime parole," NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond. "We are going forward with the case, working with Nassau County."

Andrea Koller, 53, was shot in the chest on Jan. 22 in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn at 144-10 135th Ave. in Jamaica. She was trying to stop a suspect from taking jewelry from her 20-year-old daughter.

CBS2 reports Koller initially confronted the suspect outside the hotel. The suspect demanded she give him her purse, but she refused and screamed. The suspect hit her with a gun, and when Koller fought back, she was shot.

Koller is still recovering from her injuries following surgery. The daughter was treated for minor head wounds after being pistol-whipped.

Boyce said the two suspects have not yet been charged in the shooting and that NYPD detectives are still developing the case. A third suspect has also been identified in the shooting, but police are not ready to release his name until he is apprehended.

Police believe the suspects are responsible for at least four other robberies or attempted robberies in the Queens neighborhood, sources told CBS2.

• On Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., 64-year-old man was sitting in a Mercedes Benz in a parking lot outside the Comfort Inn, opposite 144-25 135th Ave., when to suspects pulled him out of the vehicle, hit him and took his wallet and car. They drove off in the victim's vehicle, sources said.

• On Jan. 3 at 12:01 a.m., at the corner of 135th Avenue and 142nd Street in Queens, a 54-year-old woman was sitting in her vehicle when a man opened the door, covered her eyes and demanded her property. He took her wallet, removed the cash and threw the empty wallet back at her, sources said. The suspect fled in a dark-colored vehicle.

• On Jan. 5 at 7 a.m., a 46-year-old man was standing behind the Days Inn hotel at 144-26 153rd Ct. when two men, one with a gun, forced him into his Nissan Altima rental car. They drove to 154-30 156th St. where they removed his property, police said. The suspects fled in a waiting dark-colored Cadillac Escalade.

• On Jan. 9 at 12:20 a.m., a 45-year-old woman was walking into the parking lot at 144-02 135th Ave. behind the Hampton Inn, when a man called out from inside a Mercedes Benz as she walked past. She turned and saw a man pointing a handgun at her and demanded money. The victim fled on foot, but did not take anything, sources said.