Nassau Man Caught Fleeing Country After Botched Robbery: Police

EAST GARDEN CITY, NY — A Freeport man was arrested trying to flee the country after a botched robbery at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Dec. 7, Nassau County police said.

According to police, Bernardo Dezil, 22, entered Clientele, a store in the Roosevelt Field Mall on Old Country Road, at 2:06 p.m. Inside, police say Dezil started picking out clothes. Police say employees saw him acting suspiciously and began to watch him. Dezil tried to leave the store without paying for the clothes, police said, and was stopped by employees.

A fight started, and police say Dezil pulled out a handgun. During the fight, police say Dezil struck a 33-year-old man in the face. The man was able to get the gun away from Dezil, who then fled the scene on foot, police said.

On Dec. 20, police say NYPD officers found Dezil trying to board a plane to leave the country, and placed him under arrest. Nassau County officers took him into custody.

Police say an investigation found that the handgun had been stolen from North Carolina.

Dezil was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He was arraigned on Dec. 21 and held on $100,000 bail, which was not posted.