Police search for three suspects in rash of Black Friday attacks at the Palisades Mall

BY MICHAEL RICONDA

WEST NYACK – Clarkstown police are currently searching for three individuals deemed suspects in a string of violent attacks on Palisades Center mallgoers in the early morning hours of November 28.

The three males are suspected in three separate incidents where five different people were assaulted between the hours of 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. According to Clarkstown Police, the three did not appear to be engaged in robberies, but merely wandered the mall and attacked people at random.

All of the victims sustained injuries which included bumps and bruises, a laceration which required 17 stitches and a broken wrist. After the attack, the suspects reportedly left the area in a black 2012-2013 Honda Civic four door sedan.

On Monday, police went public with stills of the three suspects obtained from the mall’s camera system. One wore a black skullcap, a blue shirt with a print of Abraham Lincoln in the front, and dark-colored pants, another wore a black skullcap with two light-colored horizontal stripes, a white shirt and dark-colored pants, and a third wore a black shirt with a kerchief around his neck and orange pants.

The suspects are all white and appear to be in their late teens or twenties. Victims also reported to the police that the suspects spoke with Eastern European accents.

The attacks represent just a few of the crimes committed at shopping centers on Black Friday 2014, though most others were non-violent shoplifting offenses. Violeta Harris, 41, from the Bronx was arrested later in the day at the Lord and Taylor’s in the Palisades Center while allegedly attempting to shoplift clothing, while Yueh Lin, 61, of Pomona, was arrested for a similar clothing theft at the Shops at Nanuet. Both were charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

Another incident involved a physical altercation, but no serious injury. Veronica Lantigua, 38, of Tarrytown, was arrested and charged with grand larceny shortly after her and an unidentified male accomplice stole a jewelry box and jewelry from the Nanuet Kohl’s. She also faces a harassment violation for briefly accosting an employee who tried to confront her while she left the store.

Anybody with information on the recent assaults can call the Clarkstown Detective Bureau at 845-639-5840 or the Clarkstown TIPS line at 1-877-639-6233.