Nicholas Almonte (
)
Cops tonight busted a Long Island City man who went on a wild carjacking and robbery spree that prompted a massive manhunt stretching from Queens to New Jersey.
Suspect Nicholas Almonte, 27, was taken into custody in Greenpoint at about 6 p.m., police said.
Almonte first stole a black Mercedes at gunpoint at 9:37 a.m. on Borden Avenue near 25th Street, a short distance from his home at 20-25 Borden, cops said.
A witness said he pointed a handgun – possibly a pellet gun or a fake, sources said – at the driver and forced his way into her car.
“I see a man with a gun force his way into the passenger side of a black Mercedes with North Carolina plates,” said Donnell Mayo, 50, whose wife works at the nearby Fresh Direct warehouse.
But the terrified victim managed to escape from the vehicle near Queens Plaza and Almonte quickly ditched the car.
He then tried but failed to take a Ford van before carjacking a man’s grey Lexus at Thompson Avenue and Vandam Street at 10 a.m.
That car was found a short time later at 38th Street and Hunters Point Avenue.
Minutes later, Almonte tried to steal car keys from a woman walking her dog near 50th Avenue and 39th Street – but fled after she told him she didn’t have any.
Then, at 10:20 a.m., Almonte robbed cash from a trucker at 38th Street and Hunters Point Avenue, police said.
Ten minutes later, a man said the gun-toting suspect confronted him at 39th Street and Greenpoint Avenue and carjacked a 1996 gold Mercedes C280 that has not been recovered.
Police said no shots were fired in any of the incidents.
Cops in riot gear were seen entering Almonte’s building with a canine unit, and his girlfriend was taken to the 108th precinct for questioning.
Undercover cops also staked out a house – possibly his mother’s – in Jersey City where they believed the suspect may have been headed, though he had not shown up by mid-afternoon
Pals said Almonte has a history of mental illness.
“I know Nicholas. We work on scaffolding jobs together. He has a history of mental problems, I know he takes meds for them,” said Michael Stacey, 47, a fleet manager for Swing Staging.
Stacey said Almonte – known as “Bebop” because he loved to sing – was normal when medicated.
“But when he’s off his meds he goes off the wall. He gets a little kooky. Sometimes he’ll get loud or throw a tantrum. But his outbursts have never been this crazy,” Stacey said.
Hardhat Esteban Tineo, 29, also knows Almonte.
“I’ve known him for a while. When he takes his pills, he has a beautiful heart. When he’s not on his pills, watch out. He’s not all there. He’ll start talking to you then throw tantrums and go crazy out of nowhere. He just flips out and goes crazy. He loses control,” he said. “Nick isn’t the sharpest knife in the kitchen.”
Stacey said Almonte recently got his commercial drivers license and drove a shuttle bus that ferried employees from nearby Fresh Direct to and from subway and bus stations.
Fresh Direct said in a statement he did not work for the grocery giant.