Thief Dies After Jump from Train Platform

By Patricia Adams

A man fell to his death on Monday afternoon, shortly after robbing a Capital One Bank branch on Lefferts Boulevard between Liberty and 103rd avenues in Ozone Park.

At about 1:30 p.m., the unidentified white male, approximately 35-50 years old, entered the bank, approached a bank window and passed a note to the teller demanding cash. The bandit took off from the bank carrying a bag of money and headed toward Liberty Ave. But when a dye pack exploded inside the bag, the man tossed the cash in a garbage pail at the corner and raced up the stairs to the elevated train tracks.

With the police in pursuit, the suspect jumped onto the tracks of the A line and began running away from cops. About 5 blocks later, the man decided to jump off the tracks onto a roof top of the corner building at Liberty Avenue and 113th street. He misjudged the distance, which police sources estimate to be at least 22 feet, and plunged to the sidewalk beneath.

The man died at the scene.