Hammer-Wielding Spa Customer Breaks Piggy Bank
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Still image of a hammer-wielding suspect. Photo courtesy of the NYPD.
By Christina Carrega
A frustrated spa customer is wanted by police for threatening workers with a hammer for refusing to give him a happy ending after his massage and stealing money from the business’ piggy bank, police said.
The man received spa treatment from a 55-year-old female employee on Nov. 29 at the Tao Spa Bodywork and when she was finished, he requested for “a favor in exchange for money,” a law enforcement source told the Eagle.
When the employee of the Flushing spa refused, the customer demanded a refund for all his services. After the employee denied the man a second time, he allegedly dragged the woman out of the room and into the waiting area where he punched her in the face.
During the attack, the employee was able to flee to the back of the building as three other female employees confronted the man.
The man allegedly grabbed a 56-year-old female employee by the throat, shoved her against the wall and threatened the other two female employees with a hammer.
The business’ surveillance cameras captured a majority of the incident.
The desperate employees tried to stop the hammer-wielding man by offering $40 in cash with hopes he would leave the Flushing establishment, police said.
The man took the money the employee offered and used the hammer to smash open a piggy bank on the counter. Before leaving the scene on 40th Road, the man took some of the coins and cash from the shattered piggy bank, police said.
Emergency responders treated the women at the scene.
The suspect is described as a male Hispanic, between 20 to 30 years old, 5-foot 6, 160 pounds, with black hair. He was last seen wearing a gray hooded coat, dark colored jeans, tan work boots and he had on a light colored backpack.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
