The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
Gangbangers indicted in string of brazen gunpoint robberies at NYC smoke shops
The indictment comes as robberies at Big Apple smoke shops have been soaring this year.
nypost.com
Gangbangers indicted in string of brazen gunpoint robberies at NYC smoke shops
By
Haley Brown and
Amanda Woods
May 3, 2023 2:55pm
Updated
Three gangbangers were indicted this week in connection to a string of brazen gunpoint robberies at Manhattan smoke shops, prosecutors said.
Jalen Robertson, 21, Michael David, 22, and Derrick Fleming, 25 – all members of the Mac Baller Brims, a subset of the Bloods gang – were accused of hitting downtown stores between December 2022 and mid-January, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
The indictment comes as robberies at Big Apple smoke shops have been soaring this year.
The heists the trio were charged over took place in Chelsea, Union Square and the West Village, prosecutors said.
In the first case, authorities said David allegedly entered Seventh Avenue Smoke Shop around 10:50 p.m. Dec. 29 — and then went behind the counter, flashed a gun and snatched up cash and merchandise.
He allegedly struck again around 4:45 p.m. Jan. 7, where he and accomplice Robertson are accused of hitting up Puffy’s Smoke Shop on Third Avenue near East 17th Street, prosecutors said.
Robertson stood at the door as a lookout, while David went behind the counter and threatened the clerk, prosecutors alleged.
Three gangbangers were indicted in connection to a series of smoke shop robberies in Manhattan — the first at Seventh Avenue Smoke Shop on December 29, 2022. Google MapsThe pair allegedly stole unspecified “merchandise” and escaped in a getaway car.
Then, on Jan. 11 at around 1 p.m., David and Fleming entered the Grab and Go Smoke Shop on Sixth Avenue near Waverly Place, prosecutors said.
This time, David was the lookout and Fleming displayed a gun, prosecutors charged.
The two allegedly threatened to shoot the clerk, pocketed cash and other loot before again bolting in a getaway car.
David and Robertson targeted 37 Convenience Store on Seventh Avenue near West 13th Street just after 8 p.m. Jan. 13, according to prosecutors.
David brandished a pistol and went behind the counter, where he demanded that the clerk lay on the ground as he stole cash and merchandise, authorities said. Robertson allegedly acted as the lookout.
David was charged with four counts of first-degree robbery and three counts of second-degree robbery, according to prosecutors.
He was ordered held on $300,000 bail or $500,000 bond during his arraignment Tuesday.
Robertson was slapped with two counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree robbery.
The second robbery took place at Puffy’s Smoke Shop on January 7, 2023.Google MapsHe was finally arraigned Tuesday after two delays – one of them due to former President Donald Trump’s arraignment at the same courthouse.
Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Anne Scherzer went easy on Robertson, ordering him released on his own recognizance, because he showed up – with his mother – on every scheduled arraignment date.
This was despite prosecutors’ request for $150,000 bail.
“If everything the ADA is saying is true, this is an incredibly serious case,” Scherzer told Robertson. “You’re looking at substantial jail time.”
Michael David and Derrick Fleming allegedly robbed Grab and Go Smoke Shop on January 11, 2023.Google Maps“But I know that you’ve been here with your mom every single time this case has been on,” she said. “You were here early this morning. You waited all day. I know that you’re working. So I’m not going to send you to jail. You’re going to stay on ROR status.
“Mind your step,” she warned him, adding that he could be sent back to jail for any “misstep.”
Fleming, meanwhile, faces one count of first-degree robbery as well as one count of second-degree robbery. Records show that he was ordered held on $100,000 bond, or $25,000 cash bail during his arraignment.
“We will continue to stand up for the safety of our workers and will not allow smoke shops to become magnets for violent crime,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg vowed in a statement.