By Steve Mosco
A man accused of a daring daylight robbery at Resorts World Casino in South Ozone Park in June was arrested in Pennsylvania Tuesday, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
DA Richard A. Brown announced Wednesday that Kevin Lides, 23, was apprehended after fingerprints on a note handed to a teller at the casino matched his own. The suspect was taken into custody Tuesday in Monroe County, Pa., for extradition to New York.
“The defendant is accused of brazenly walking into a crowded casino on a Friday afternoon and demanding money,” said Brown. “The odds of getting away with such an alleged crime were stacked against him, and his long overdue arrest proves the old adage: you can run but you cannot hide.”
Brown said the suspect, from the Briarwood section of Queens, was charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree grand larceny. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison, according to the district attorney’s office.
According to a police report, Lides allegedly approached the second-floor cashier’s cage at Resorts World on the afternoon of Friday, June 29, and handed a female teller a note demanding money that said she would be killed if she did not comply. Lides allegedly told the teller he had a gun and reached under his shirt, police said.
Lides allegedly walked away with $63,000, according to the authorities.
Brown said the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department, the Monroe County district attorney and the U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force were instrumental in the suspect’s arrest.
Resorts World spokesman Stefan Friedman said the casino’s surveillance system facilitated Lides’ arrest.
“This arrest proves that our surveillance system is working.Through close collaboration with the NYPD and the information revealed on our state-of-the-art on-site surveillance technology, we were able to assist the police in apprehending the suspect, he said. “Our first priority has always been the safety of our guests, and through we are extremely proud of our outstanding record, we are constantly refining our efforts to ensure 100 percent security.”
