NY Daily News: Upstaris tots. Downstairs, pot.Armed bandits targeted a Brooklyn day care center where the owners ran a drug den in thebasement, with a 10-pound marijuana stash and more than $100,000 incash, police said Saturday.
Day care owner Donna Rogers, 37, and her husband, Sherwin, 36, were arrested for felony marijuana possessio none day after kids at their East Flatbush business slept through a wild gunfight between cops and robbers.
"Obviously, they were doingmore than just taking care of children," said Police CommissionerRaymond Kelly. "It appears they were also dealing drugs at thislocation."
Sherwin Rogers surrendered to the 67th Precinct aftercops - tipped by a seriously wounded suspect - returned to the day care Saturday and found the drugs and money hidden in a closet, Kelly said.
Thecouple lived in the basement, where neighborhood crooks knew they stashed large amounts of pot. And Friday's robbery was timely - it waspay day and pot was being delivered.
Next-door neighbor Grant Frierson, 70, wasn't surprised by the arrest - Rogers and her husbandhad recently purchased two new cars. But he was disgusted by the daycare ruse.
"Keeping all that cash and drugs under the same roof as those kids is just despicable," Frierson said. "Looks like thosekids were a coverup."
About a dozen children, ages 1 to 10, werenapping inside the Special Moments Day Care Center on Friday when therobbers - posing as parents - entered the facility, a police sourcesaid.
A pair of plainclothes officers from the 67th Precinctreached the robbery in progress to find a roomful of kids and one adult: Gavin Nugent, with a 9-mm. Glock in his hand.
Nugent, 34,was shot after pointing the loaded gun at police. The bleeding suspect ran from the day care to the basement, but was too big to shimmythrough a window to freedom, a police source said.
Nugent finally dropped his weapon after police shot him a second time. He was instable condition at Kings County Hospital Saturday with gunshot woundsto the chest and wrist, Kelly said.
The initial confrontation was captured on videotape. Although police fired four times, the video showed the children sleeping innocently through the gunfire.
Nugentand career criminal Dwayne Jackson, 35, were arrested at the scene andcharged with burglary, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.
Their alleged lookout man, 37-year-old Carl Grierson, was also busted Friday. Police initially believed the armed robbers intended to steal the daycare's payroll until Nugent squealed on the drug operation.
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