Feb. 12, 2012 By Christian Murray
The police arrested a man on Thursday who allegedly murdered a Berkeley Towers resident in October.
Raymond Epps, 55, strangled Wayne Graves in his 11th floor apartment at 52-40 39th Drive, according to police. Graves, 62, was found dead in his bathtub on Oct. 19 by his superintendent with a wound to his head from a blunt instrument, according to reports at the time.
The police had their sights on Epps for some time but he was in custody in Boston on other charges. After his time was served, the Boston resident was then extradited back to Queens.
Epps faces murder, robbery, grand larceny, possession of stolen goods and petite larceny charges.
Meanwhile, the police arrested eight individuals at the end of December for stealing prescription pads as a means to get oxycodone. The individuals traveled from the Bronx to a pharmacy on Skillman Ave. to get the drugs and paid the pharmacy cash. The police would not name the pharmacy.
“Some pharmacies check up on people, others don’t. I guess these guys came from the Bronx since they had heard they could try this place,” said Captain Donald Powers, the head of police precinct 108.
No charges have been filed against the pharmacist.
In other news, the police said that they don’t have any leads in identifying the man who attempted to rob GameStop at 48th Street & QB while carrying a firearm, police said. The alleged perpetrator went around the back of the counter to steal property but left the store with nothing.
Meanwhile, the number of reported crimes declined in the past 28 days across Precinct 108, which covers Sunnyside/Woodside/LIC. Major crime was down 9% for the past 28 days through Feb. 5 compared to the same period in 2011. These numbers are based on those crimes reported among the following seven major crime categories.
0 (2012), 0 murder
1 (2012), 3 rape
10 (2012), 15 robbery
6 (2012), 8 felony assault
26 (2012), 20 burglaries
39 (2012), 38 grand larcenies
12 (2012), 19 grand larceny auto
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12 Comments
What were they thinking? These people pillaged our building. It is in Manhattan as well.
IVE LIVED IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FOR OVER 25 YEARS. I KNO THE PHARMACY . ITS ON SKILLMAN AND 48ST RIGHT NEXT TO “STRAY” VINTAGE. THE PHARMACIST TILL THIS DAY STILL DEAL WITH THESE “BRONX” GUYS>I SEE THEM PULL UP THERE ATLEAST TWICE A MONTH.. THAT PHARMACY IS VERY SHADY. AS FAR AS THE MAN THAT WAS KILLED IN BERKELEY TOWERS …HE BROUGHT A STRANGER HOME WITH HIM…(IF U KNO WAT I MEAN) AND THE MAN SPENT A DAY OR TWO WITH HIM AND THEN KILLED AND ROBBED HIM….THE MAN WAS LOOKING FOR A VICTIM AND FOUND ONE WHO WAS LOOKING FOR COMPANIONSHIP
it is dangerous to be a pharmacist. I also know who these punk kids are and I am baffled as to why the 108th seems to have so much trouble locking them up. They are notorious for robbing their friends and neighbors.
This pharmacy – if it is the one I am thinking of – had been robbed in the fall by two people holding a knife and wearing masks. I suspect the owner must be terrified. He is not a young man. Of course, you have heard about some pharmacists in Long Island applying for gun licenses after the two shootouts that took place there. Working in a pharmacy has become a dangerous profession – even in Sunnyside. And “heard that they could try this place” – is it from the previous two robbers? Is it from our local low lives? I know that a couple of them have done armed robberies.
In re-reading the article it seems that the pharmacy on Skillman wasn’t robbed. The teens came to the pharmacy simply to get their prescriptions (which were robbed from somewhere else) filled and paid cash for them. The fact that the police said that the teens traveled from the Bronx to this particular pharmacy because “they had heard they could try this place” is VERY alarming. I can’t even get Benadryl because it’s locked up behind the counter in most pharmacies and requires my driver’s license. A prescription for a known street drug where the person pays in cash, and doesn’t go through insurance, should raise a huge red flag, shouldn’t it? Unless they’re in the business of dealing drugs for cash, that is. Great way to attract lowlifes to our area…
Marilyn, I hope the police read this thread! Enough is enough. Thank you for your moral support.
Raquel, I absolutely believe you. My friends and I were standing on the corner of 47th and Skillman the other evening, maybe around 9:00 when a teenager walked past us to a car that pulled up. The teenager copped some drugs and he and his two friends then went to a neighborhood bodega and got some beer. They then walked past us again arguing about who should hold the drugs. Besides being bold and really stupid, these kids seemed to live in the gardens area as that is where they were headed.
A pharmacy on Skillman was robbed several months ago by two individuals wearing masks. It is targeted because it is on an isolated, quiet street. Do not blame the pharmacist: he is a crime victim also. Obviously, some locals have tipped off the creeps in other boroughs to come over here to rob. I keep saying that we have some creepy druggy kids – do you believe me now?
I’ve lived here my whole life and the last pharmacy I remember on Skillman was on 46th & Skillman. Where is the other pharmacy?
That is right Marilyn…we only have one pharmacy on skillman ave..we do need to send an undercover cop in there and stop future probelms what is he has customers in there and someone gets killed or stabbled or something ..we need to prevent this and keep our town safe
Maybe the pharmacy is looking to make more money ..who knows.. we are innocent until we are proven guility in our court system..
As far as I know, there is only one (or maybe two?) pharamcies on Skillman, so why not use an undercover cop to nail them?
Marilyn S.
?? Why did Raymond Epps strangle the guy? Was there a motive or are we living among f***in lunatics?
And as for not finding the robber-wannabe of GameStop? Shame on the precinct.