Nassau Man Threw Knives At Store Clerks While Stealing: Police

A Hempstead man was arrested on Wednesday after police say he threw knives at store clerks that were trying to stop him from stealing.

According to police, Uzoechi Jibuike, 49, of Searing Street, was in the Jerusalem Fresh Market, at 415 Jerusalem Ave. in Hempstead, at 11:36 Wednesday when he took a packaged phone charger from a display and tried to use it before paying for it. Employees of the store told him he had to pay for it. Jibuike became irate, police said, and took two kitchen knives from a store display and threw them at the employees before fleeing the store with the charger. No one was injured.

Hempstead police arrived at the scene and found Jibuike a short time later and placed him under arrest without incident. He was taken to an area hospital for evaluation.

Jibuike is charged with first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree menacing, two counts of second-degree attempted assault, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He will be arraigned when medically practical.