Chanel SoHo store robbery suspect awaits extradition in Fort Lauderdale

The New York Police Department released these images to the public after a Feb. 3 store robbery in Manhattan. (NYPD)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After a brazen daylight armed robbery at the Chanel SoHo boutique in Manhattan, federal agents said a Brooklyn suspect decided to run and hide in South Florida.

The FBI-NYPD Joint Major Theft Task Force identified the suspect as Eric Spencer and tracked him to Fort Lauderdale. They are still searching for his accomplices.

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Records show Spencer, 29, was arrested on Saturday, and he appeared in front of Judge Jared M. Strauss on Monday at the U.S. Federal Building and Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.

Eric Spencer was in South Florida on Tuesday awaiting extradition to New York. (NYPD)

According to FBI Special Agent Brian Smith, he and a few accomplices robbed about $189,500 in merchandise on Feb. 2 from the store in New York. U.S Attorney Audrey Strauss told reporters Spencer displayed the handle of his gun to threaten a store security guard.

“Spencer put the public and store personnel in grave danger,” Strauss said in a statement.

Spencer and his accomplices first fled in a four-door Audi with an untraceable tag. There were mistakes. According to Smith, Spencer used social media on Feb. 3 to boast about having enough “Double C” to open his own “small boutique.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a statement that FBI agents and NYPD detectives are working together to find the other members of Spencer’s robbery crew.

Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Guadalupe Monarrez contributed to this report.


About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.