Queens Duo Arrested After Brandishing Knife, Shoving Restaurant Staff, Police Say

WEST HEMPSTEAD, NY — A pair of Queens residents are facing criminal charges this week after police say they shoved employees and brandished a knife at La Candela Restaurant on Hempstead Turnpike.

Nassau County police said 47-year-old Dana Ardezzone and 45-year-old Jason Thompson had eaten at the restaurant Saturday night and were trying to walk out with tableware items in their to-go bags when they were approached in the parking lot by two employees. The employees, police said, were trying to retrieve the tableware items when Thompson shoved them out of the way and brandished a knife.

Subscribe

At that point, police said 911 was called and Ardezzone and Thompson were arrested. This week, Thompson faces one count of first-degree robbery, a fourth–degree charge of criminal possession of a weapon and a second-degree charge of menacing while Ardezzone faces a second-degree robbery charge, police said.