Queens Man Swiped Chanel Bag From Oyster Bay Shop: PD

OYSTER BAY, NY — A 23-year-old Queens man swiped a Chanel bag from a store in Oyster Bay, and then scared a shop clerk by reaching inside his pocket and threatening the use of a weapon on Friday afternoon, Nassau County police said.

Detectives said that at about 4:30 p.m. Isaiah Towles took the bag without making any attempt to pay for it inside Alice’s of Oyster Bay, and a 43-year-old male clerk followed him outside, but he was “placed in fear” as Towles “reached into his front right pocket while threatening the use of a weapon.”

Towles ran away, but his description was called into 911, and he was later found by police on the Oyster Bay Long Island Rail Road train station platform, police said. Towles did not have a weapon in his possession at the time of his arrest, police said.

Police did not specify exactly how much the Chanel bag was worth, but according to one of Towles’ arrest charges, the bag was worth anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000.

Towles has been charged with first-degree robbery and fourth-degree grand larceny, both felonies, as well as third-degree menacing, a misdemeanor. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Mineola on Saturday.

Towles could face anywhere from five-to-25 years in prison based on the top charge of robbery.