A Bronx crook robbed the same cellphone store four times in 11 days — in broad daylight.
“I recognized him as soon as he walked in and thought, ‘Oh no, not again!’ ” said a 23-year-old worker who witnessed three of the heists at the MetroPCS store on Jerome Avenue near West 183rd Street in Fordham Heights.
The employee said the creep threatened to shoot her during the third stickup, which netted him $10,000 from the cash register. “He pointed the gun at me and said, ‘Give me everything or I’ll blow your brains out!’ ” she told The Post.
Another employee who was in the store during the second robbery said the suspect threatened to kill her and a customer when she gave chase.
“I ran after him, and he stopped at the door, turned around and said, ‘If you move, I’ll blow your head off!’ My instinct was to chase him, but then the customer said, ‘Let him go, it’s not worth it,’ ” the 24-year-old said.
The thug’s spree started May 15, when he strolled into the shop at 11:40 a.m. and started speaking with an employee, according to surveillance video.
He then cut the chit-chat and grabbed two wireless headsets worth $100 each and bolted, cops said. He returned May 19 at 11:50 a.m. and swiped four different SXS wireless Bluetooth headsets worth $70 each.
By the third robbery May 21, the suspect had grown greedier and more dangerous. He walked into the shop at about 4:40 p.m. and demanded cash from the clerk after flashing a handgun he’d stashed in a plastic bag.
Store owner John Namit said he had left $10,000 in the register in the high-crime neighborhood because he had been away — and that “this never happened before” despite the two prior heists.
“I was out of town for two days, and I couldn’t pick up the money. This never happened before, so we left it there,” said Namit, adding he had no insurance for the stolen loot.
“The insurance company does not insure against robberies in this neighborhood.”
Monique McKenzie, a rep for T-Mobile, which owns the Metro PCS brand, said because Namit owns the shop it’s his call how cash is handled.
Cops said the thief returned once more at 10:25 a.m. May 26 — again carrying a gun in a plastic bag — and took $300 from the register and another $300 more and a passport from the 23-year-old worker.
The older employee said the thief struck only when women were working there.
“He’s dangerous, and he only comes when there are girls working. He’s got balls. He’s capable of doing anything to get what he wants,” she said.about the robber, who was described as black, 5-foot-7 and about 170 pounds.
“If he’s coming in with a gun, without a mask or gloves, robbing and then just leaving –he’s not afraid of anything. I hope he gets caught, said Namit, who has owned the store for about two years.
He fled southbound on Jerome Avenue in the last two incidents.