Crime & Safety

Attempted Shoplifting and Threats to Stab Store Employees Leads to Police Chase in NY

A larceny at a Greenwich supermarket went completely haywire Tuesday afternoon, leaving the 300-lb. suspect hospitalized.

An attempted shoplighting at a supermarket in central Greenwich went completely haywire Tuesday afternoon, leaving 300-lb.  suspect from the Bronx, NY  laid up in Jacobi Medical Center.

Vincent Amato's misadventures started at the Stop & Shop at 161 W. Putnam Ave. and went on a downward spiral from there. Greenwich Police were summoned to the Stop & Shop  to investigate an attempted robbery about 2:24 p.m. Tuesday.

Amato's attempted larceny in Greenwich turned into an interstate escape down I-95; complete with a police pursuit through Rye and several other Sound Shore towns, highlighted by an SUV roll-over and car fire in Pelham, and ending with a trip to a Bronx hospital for Amato yesterday afternoon.

“A man threatened to stab employees with a hypodermic needle when they confronted him for stealing merchandise,” said Greenwich Police spokesman Lt. Kraig Gray.

At that point, according to Greenwich Police, the man fled the store and drove off in a black SUV.

According to Rye Police spokesperson Lt. Joseph Verille, their department was alerted around 2:54 p.m. about a vehicle that had left the scene of the alleged crime in Greenwich. A Rye police officer spotted and began to follow the black 2004 Mercury SUV headed southbound on I-95 near exit 19 in Rye.

The driver–described as a 300 pound, Hispanic male– slowed to a stop near exit 18. When the police officer approached, however, the driver took off again. At times, the driver took his SUV off the roadway, driving on the shoulder of the road to avoid slowing traffic.

Eventually, the suspected thief and getaway driver Vincent Amato lost control of the SUV near exit 14, rolling over into a steep, wooded area on the roadside.

Despite significant injuries, police said Amato tried to flee from the scene on foot before being arrested in Pelham Manor near Eastchester Place and Ropes Avenue. Meanwhile, the SUV erupted in flames on the roadside. FDNY responded to extinguish the blaze.

Gray also said the Greenwich Police detective division is investigating and working to obtain an arrest warrant in connection with the supermarket incident.

Police reports did not indicate what the man was accused of trying to steal.

According to Verille, Amato is at Jacobi Medical Center with broken bones and other injuries and has not yet been formally charged in their jurisdiction. No specific details were available about Amato's current condition or possible criminal charges.


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