Senior Pistol Whipped, Threatened to Kill his Grand Daughter
By Dan Gesslein
Manhattan Voice
May 19, 2023
MANHATTAN - Police made an arrest in the Robbery of a Manhattan Electronics Store where the gunmen posed as FedEx workers to gain entry. One of the suspects has been arrested and now faces federal charges.
Police made an arrest in the vicious robbery at a Soho electronics Store in which a 74-year-old worker was pistol whipped.
Police announced the arrest of 46-year-old Iggal Copeland of Union City, New Jersey. Iggal was charged with robbery in NYC. He was also hit with federal charges by the Office of Damian WilliamsU.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
“The defendant’s alleged conduct was violent and callous,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “He and another suspect allegedly forced their way into an electronics store disguised as FedEx workers, held a gun to an elderly store employee’s head, hit the employee in the back of the head with the gun, and threatened that if the employee did not open a safe within the store, they would harm the employee’s young granddaughter while on her way to school. This Office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who commit violent robberies and terrorize hardworking New Yorkers.”
At around 7:30 am on April 21, two men entered an electronics store in the vicinity of Canal Street and Mercer Street. One of the men was seen on surveillance video wearing a FedEx sweatshirt and posed as a worker to gain entry into the store as the owner was about to open for the day. Once inside the store, the men displayed a handgun.
They forced the man to the back room to attempt to open the safe. In the complaint the feds allege that Copeland held a gun to the owner’s head and threatened his granddaughter if he did not open the safe.
“Open the door [to the safe] . . . do you want your granddaughter [to overhear] when she comes down for school,” Copeland is alleged to have said as stated in the complaint. “I’m about to kill his grandbaby . . . he’s fuckin’ playing games.”
One of the men hit the 74-year-old in the back of the head with the pistol. As the worker reeled from the blow, the other robber removed the senior’s wallet which contained $1,500 in cash.
The crooks then tried to pry open the safe but were unsuccessful.
The robbers gave up and fled.
The victim was treated by EMS at the scene.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “This arrest by the ATF/NYPD SPARTA Join Robbery Task Force is another example of New York City’s strong law enforcement partnerships combatting violent crime and holding accountable anyone who endangers people in our communities. We vow to remain relentless in identifying and investigating anyone who wields an illegal gun on our streets. Due to the efforts of our investigators and the prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District, this defendant now faces the prospect of significant federal prison time.”
Copeland is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and one count of Hobbs Act robbery, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of using and brandishing a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.
