Warehouse worker, robber killed in shootout in Mount Vernon: prosecutors

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (PIX11) – A warehouse worker and a robber were both killed in a shootout during a failed robbery attempt in Mount Vernon Tuesday, authorities said.

A group of people allegedly tried to rob a warehouse that sells unlicensed marijuana and nicotine products, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

The robbers approached the warehouse workers at gunpoint as they were assisting customers, authorities said. Soon after, a shootout broke out between the warehouse workers and the robbers, resulting in the deaths of a worker and a robber, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Five of the accused robbers have been arrested. Ilario Contreras, 23, Jerpi Diaz-Feliz, 25, Jhoan Diaz-Feliz, 23, Victor Jimenez, 35, and Joseph Perez, 26, have all been charged with murder in connection with the incident, authorities said.

“These five subjects allegedly orchestrated an attempted armed robbery of a warehouse that sells to smoke shops, which quickly turned deadly as a shootout ensued, culminating in the death of both an employee and one robbery crew affiliate,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said in a statement.