2 Facing Charges In Floral Park 7-Eleven Robbery: Police

FLORAL PARK, NY — A Great Neck man is being held on a $200,000 bond/$100,000 cash bail after pleading not guilty to charges he robbed a 7-Eleven clerk at knifepoint last weekend, court documents show.

Just before 5 p.m. on Jan. 16 James Kovatch went behind the counter of the 7-Eleven, which is located on Jericho Turnpike in Floral Park, and waved a knife at a clerk, telling him, “I’m going to kill you,” according to a felony complaint filed by Nassau County Police. Kovatch, who is now being held at the Nassau County Correctional Facility in East Meadow, “lunged forward”at the clerk, “in attempts to stab him” while Amanda Matthews, 40, of Brooklyn “walked around the store selecting items” and hid them inside her clothes before leaving without paying, the complaint states.

The clerk suffered “multiple lacerations to his right shoulder and right hip and a contusion to his forehead during the attack,” the complaint states. The 44-year-old clerk was transported to a local hospital for treatment, according to police.

Kovatch and Matthews were charged with first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree robbery, police said. Kovatch was additionally charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to police. Matthews is also being held at the Nassau County Correctional Facility on $100,000 bond and $50,000 cash bail, according to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas’ office.

If convicted, both Kovatch and Matthews could serve up to 25 years in state prison based on the top robbery charge. Matthews’ attorney, Brian Carmody of Westbury, declined comment. Kovatch’s attorney, Joseph LoPiccolo of Garden City, could not be immediately reached for comment.