NYC cannabis store robbers beat clerk who tried to stop them

Metro

By Kevin Sheehan and Jesse O’Neill

Three thugs who robbed an unlicensed cannabis store in the Bronx on Valentine’s Day mercilessly pummeled a hapless employee who dared to get their way, according to cops.

The suspects entered Top Top 4 Walton at 1405 Walton Avenue in Mt. Eden around 1:40 a.m. on Feb. 14 and tried to grab marijuana products without paying, the NYPD said.

When confronted by a 26-year-old employee, the unidentified perps began pummeling him with punches.

The clerk wasn’t seriously injured, but isn’t working at the weed shop anymore, according to another employee who spoke to The Post.

“The night shift, they don’t open the door now,” Ibraham, 30, said.

The suspects grabbed about $260 worth of weed and fled on foot, according to detectives.

The 24-hour store was conducting business with people on the sidewalk through a rotating service window.

Ibraham said he was undeterred by the threat of violence, because he used to “work in Delhi” (India) and was “used to it.”

The violent rip-and-run comes amid a rash of robberies at the thousands of unlicensed smoke shops that have sprouted across the city since adult use cannabis was legalized.

State regulators had collected only a small fraction of the $25 million worth of fines allegedly owed to them from black market vendors — despite a push for strengthened enforcement.

The NYPD released security images of the suspects, all young men who wore sweatshirts or jackets with hoods.