A retired NYPD lieutenant gassing up his car in East Harlem fatally shot a trigger-happy armed bandit today who had just robbed cash and drugs from a nearby pharmacy, sources said.
Thug Rudolph Wyatt, 23, and an accomplice stormed into the Rx Center on First Avenue at East 119th Street about 11 a.m. and demanded cash and the powerful, highly addictive painkillers Percocet and Oxycontin – even specifying the 30 milligram dosage, sources said.
Wyatt, who was packing a .32-caliber gun loaded with five bullets, yelled for everyone in the store — which included a manager, two employees and five customers, one of whom had a baby in a stroller — to “get down,” sources added.
He then hopped over the counter and ripped $300 from the register, sources added. A pharmacist handed over the drugs to Wyatt.
A quick-thinking employee hit a panic button, and two female cops in a patrol car rolled up and met a male cop on foot before the unsuspecting perps knew what happened.
The female cops flanked the entrance while the male stood back, and they ordered the suspects to come out with their hands up.
“Be careful, they have a gun,” one employee shouted.
The first one through the door complied, and they put him on the ground and were trying to slap cuffs on him when Wyatt burst through pointing his revolver at them.
Wyatt tried to squeeze off a shot, but the weapon jammed, sources said.
The cops scrambled for cover as Wyatt darted across the street toward a BP station. He pulled the trigger three times as he ran across the street – though the gun malfunctioned and no slugs were discharged.
One female officer, who is an 18-year veteran, fired three shots in Wyatt’s direction, but they missed their mark, sources said.
Meanwhile, retired police Lt. Thomas Barnes was gassing up his grey Mercedes GL 350 blue 4-door SUV at the center island when he heard the fire.
Barnes, armed with a Glock 9mm — for which he has a valid permit — ran behind a parked car and let loose three shots at Wyatt, hitting him once in the left cheek and once in the left base of his skull.
The sharp-shooting retiree hit Wyatt from 55 feet away, sources said.
After the gunfire stopped, Wyatt’s lifeless body lie slumped on the ground in front of the BP gas station – a wad of cash stuffed into his pants pocket and a stocking mask on his face, witnesses said.
“I saw someone running with a gun in his hand and the police chasing him,” said witness Regner Sanchez, 48, who saw the mayhem from his apartment window.
“I heard more shots and I saw the guy fall down in front of the BP gas station,” he added.
At some point during the commotion, Wyatt’s accomplice fled and is still being sought.
Wyatt, who was a Bloods gang member and ran with the “All About Money” crew, had 11 prior arrests and went by the street name “Booga,” sources said.
Investigators believe he was responsible for knocking off two other Manhattan pharmacies — one on March 31, the other on April 4. And, cops believe he committed drugstore holdups in The Bronx on March 9 and March 24.
He was wanted for shooting a 19-year-old man six times in Silver Springs, Ga. The victim survived.
He was also wanted for a double shooting in East Harlem at the Wilson Houses in May 2010, sources said. One man was shot nine times with a .40-caliber gun and another victim took 15 shotgun pellets to the back and 10 pellets to the face, sources said. Both victims lived.
Additional reporting by Lorena Mongelli and Rebecca Rosenberg