Brooklyn man sentenced for string of armed robberies in Queens

A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 43 years in prison for committing a string of armed robberies at convenience stores including a Duane Reade in Queens in 2018.  Photo by Tdorante10/Wikimedia Commons

By Jacob Kaye

A Brooklyn man was sentenced to over four decades in prison for perpetrating several gunpoint robberies at Queens convenience stores in 2018.

Elgin Brack will serve 43 years behind bars after being sentenced by U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano in Brooklyn federal court earlier this week. Brack was convicted of three counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, one count of discharging a firearm and three counts of brandishing a firearm during a two-week trial in March 2020.

Early in the morning on Nov. 26, 2018, Brack, 24, and his uncle and co-defendant, Scott Brack, set out in Queens to rob several convenience stores. The duo hit a Duane Reade, a 7-Eleven and two Rite-Aids, according to prosecutors.

Each robbery was the same, authorities said. Brack would head into the store, pretend to make a purchase and when the store employee opened the cash register, Brack would pull out a .357 Magnum revolver, point it at the employee and demand they hand over cash.

During the first robbery at the Queens Duane Reade, Brack shot the employee in both the head and hand and ended up leaving without stealing anything, prosecutors said.

Brack’s uncle drove the getaway car in each robbery, the criminal complaint alleges.

“With today’s sentence, the defendant is deservedly punished for brutally shooting an innocent employee in the head and hand, and for committing violent armed robberies of convenience stores that jeopardized the safety of innocent people,” said United States Attorney Breon Peace. “This office will continue to vigorously prosecute defendants like Brack who engage in gun violence that threatens the safety of the community and endangers customers and hardworking store employees.”

Scott Brack, who has yet to be sentenced, has previously pleaded guilty to many of the same charges.