Police outside Greenwich Street Tavern Monday night where two men were in the basement after allegedly breaking in. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib
Heavily armed police flushed out two men holed up in the basement of Greenwich Street Tavern, 399 Greenwich St., Monday evening after the suspects broke into the closed establishment, police said.
.jpg "Top: After responding to a burglary in progress at Greenwich Street Tavern, police searched the premises for signs of the intruders. Above: Once suspects were found to be barricaded in the basement, heavily armed Emergency Service officers arrived to get them out. Photos: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib")
Shortly before 9 p.m., police responded to a 911 call of a burglary in progress from the Tribeca bar-restaurant owner, who was at home and reported seeing the men on camera. Part of the locked front door, which also had a heavy chain, was torn off.
Cops entered and searched the premises with flashlights. In the basement, 1st Precinct officers Gabriel Pecak and Joseph Hardeen discovered a damaged cash register, and determined that people were hiding nearby, behind the locked office door. "That got the ball rolling," a police source said.
Some dozen backup cops soon arrived, plus Emergency Service Unit officers armed with automatic weapons and heavy protective gear who proceeded to the basement. Twenty-five minutes later, police emerged with the two suspects in handcuffs. Tayvon Ragsdale, 18, and Darren Jackson, 19, were charged with burglary. Jackson also was charged with criminal posession of a weapon, a stun gun, police said. Two Citi Bikes, possibly ridden by the suspects, had been left in the tavern’s outdoor dining shed.
In March, 2019, thieves broke into the tavern and stole $400 from the register.