A masked gentleman who robbed a tobacco store at gunpoint in New York last September almost got away with it. But one thing gave him away — his flamboyant undies sticking up from his pants. (Check them out in video below, posted by ABC7.)
The suspect was seen on security camera wearing bright red and yellow briefs with "1990" scrawled across the top, along with a white letter "R". This allowed police to connect the dots, noticing the same unique undies at the crime scene on an unmasked fellow — the same guy — and then matching his face with that on his Instagram account.
The 30-year-old suspect was arrested on Wednesday. Meanwhile, his two accomplices — who managed to cover both their faces and their briefs — have yet to be found.
From AP News:
The robbery happened at a tobacco shop in Queens on Sept. 14, 2022. Three masked men got out of a Mazda and entered the store, according to a complaint filed in federal court last week.
Two of the men pointed guns at employees and customers while the third emptied the cash register and grabbed merchandise and employees' cellphones, the complaint said. The robbers fled in the Mazda.
An anonymous tipster passed along the Instagram handle of the suspect with the colorful underwear, the complaint said. The caller also told police that the robbers had tried to sell their stolen merchandise at another Queens location.
Detectives reviewed video footage from the sale location and spotted the man with the colorful underwear, now easily identifiable because he was no longer wearing a mask, the complaint said.
Police identified the suspect based on his Instagram account, the video from the merchandise sale spot and photos from prior arrests, according to the complaint.
