Man sought for questioning in Sept. 14 robbery at smoke shop on Staten Island; business hit 2nd time Monday

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The NYPD is asking via social media for the public’s help to identify a man sought for questioning in connection with a prior alleged robbery at a smoke shop that also was targeted on Monday.

Less than two weeks ago, on Sept. 14 around 8:05 p.m., police responded to a 911 call of a robbery inside 1975 Victory Blvd. near Jewett Avenue, according to a spokeswoman for the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Puffcity is located at the address supplied by police.

A 35-year-old man told police on that Wednesday that an unidentified individual forcibly removed money from the cash register and fled the location. There were no reported injuries as a result of the incident, according to the police spokeswoman.

The individual allegedly stole about $100 in the incident on Sept. 14, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

The individual sought for questioning in the heist on Sept. 14 is described by police as a male with a dark complexion who stands about 5′9″ tall and weighs about 170 pounds. He was seen wearing a black jacket.

A photo attached to a message on the NYPD’s 120th Precinct Twitter feed regarding the robbery on Sept. 14 shows a man wearing a dark-colored Nike hoodie with the message, “Just do it,” light-colored sweat pants and black sneakers.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Staten Island Robbery Squad at 718-876-8415 or NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

ROBBERY REPORTED AT PUFFCITY ON MONDAY

Officers from the 120th Precinct responded around 5:45 p.m. on Monday to a 911 call of another robbery at Puffcity, according to multiple police sources.

A 19-year-old man told police that an unidentified individual entered the smoke shop, demanded money and simulated that he had a weapon, according to an NYPD spokeswoman. The individual fled the location northbound on Victory Boulevard. There were no injuries reported.

The individual sought in Monday’s incident is described as a male with a dark complexion who weighs about 170 pounds and was last seen wearing a blue jacket.