Gunpoint Robbery in Montauk Leads to Chase, Victim Pistol Whipped: Police

EAST HAMPTON, NY — A man and woman who held up a man at gunpoint in Montauk and pistol whipped him were caught in Amagansett after a police chase, authorities said.

According to East Hampton Town Police, detectives are investigating the armed robbery, during which the victim, 35, had his wallet and cell phone stolen on Soundview Drive in Montauk.

The pair got out of a green Ford Explorer Sunday morning at 10:35 a.m. with a handgun, demanding the man's wallet and any jewelry before pistol whipping him, police said.

After the victim described the vehicle, police spotted the thief heading west on Montauk Highway in Amagansett, police said.

The man and woman fled police and were chased to the rear of the Amagansett Fire Department, where the driver "bailed," leaving the vehicle and fleeing north through the woods and farm fields to Town Lane, police said.

Suffolk County Aviation along with a New York State Police K9 unit assisted in the investigation, police said.

When police got to the vehicle, Keirsten Escobar, 22, of Islip Terrace, was apprehended; she was the sole person inside. A short time later, the driver, Jarryd D. Cox, 35, of Mastic, was apprehended at the Balsam Farm on Town Lane Road, where he was "attempting to blend in with other patrons," police said.

Police found the handgun, cocaine and the proceeds of the robbery inside the vehicle, authorities said.

Cox and Escobar were both charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second- degree assault, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fifth- degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.

Cox was also charged with reckless driving, third-degree unlawful fleeing from a police officer in a motor vehicle, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest, police said.

The victim was taken to Southampton Hospital, where he was treated for head injuries and released, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call East Hampton Town Police at 631-537-7575. All calls will be kept confidential.

Patch file photo.