2 Arrested After Gas Station Gunpoint Robbery: Police

NORTH MERRICK, NY — Two people were arrested on Tuesday night for robbing a gas station in North Merrick, police said.

Jerald Gadsden, 31, and Heleena Velazquez-Krupp, 28, of the same North Woodmere address, are accused of demanding money from a clerk at the BP gas station on Merrick Avenue, police said.

Gadsden displayed a pistol in front of the 62-year-old male employee, detectives said.

The employee, who police say feared for his life, opened the register and gave an undisclosed amount of cash.

Gadsden and Velazquez fled on foot before police arrived. They were located on Hewlett Drive in North Woodmere, where they were taken into custody without incident, detectives said.

Further investigation revealed that Gadsden also robbed a BP gas station in Valley Stream on June 6, police said.

He faces two counts of first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree criminal use of a firearm.

Velazquez-Krupp is charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

They were expected to be arraigned on Wednesday, according to police.