Investigators have nabbed the mullet-sporting menace allegedly responsible for a multi-borough robbery spree that ended at a Bay Ridge pharmacy.
Prosecutors said Raymond Cappolla, 24, of Borough Park, was taken into custody on June 15 and charged with robbery in the first degree after a worker at a borough hotel identified him as the alleged thief who knocked over the A and V Pharmacy on Fourth Avenue at 85th Street back on June 8, as well as two pharmacies on Staten Island.
Police allege that Cappolla entered A and V Pharmacy at 7 pm with a bandanna over his nose and mouth. He flashed a pistol and gave the pharmacist a note ordering him to hand over the store’s supply of the pain reliever-turned-party-drug Oxycodone, officials alleged.
“This is a stick-up,” the note read.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to have it,” he allegedly blurted out as he grabbed two bottles of Oxycodone and three bottles of generic Xanax and raced away on a bicycle.
But Cappolla erred when he chose to target A and V Pharmacy, police said. The store has video cameras posted at every corner and there’s also a very clear sign posted on the front door, reading “Warning: All activities are recorded to aid in the prosecution of any crime committed against the facility.”
Cappolla was arraigned on $25,000 bail. A grand jury is currently mulling over the charges.
If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison, officials said.
Employees at the pharmacy would not comment on the arrest due to the ongoing investigation.
