Two individuals were arrested in Syosset early this morning in connection with a string of snatch-and-grab robberies in Levittown and Hicksville, police said.
According to detectives, Charles H. Smith, 25, and Sophia Karger, 21, both of Levittown, acted in concert on four separate occasions approaching victims in parking lots and grabbing their pocketbooks.
The pair of pocketbook bandits robbed a 76-year-old woman in the Target parking lot in Levittown on Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m.; a 38-year-old woman in the Walmart parking lot in Levittown later that same night; an 80-year-old woman in the BJ’s parking lot in Levittown on Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m.; and a 44-year-old woman in the Target parking lot at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville on Jan. 21 at 8:15 p.m. In that last incident, the victim fought back and retained her belongings.
Smith and Karger are both charged with one count of third-degree robbery, and three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny.
