Possible suspect in Sally Beauty robbery hospitalized after arrest in Owego
A 62-year-old Attica man is in an Owego hospital after allegedly being caught in the act of robbing a CVS Pharmacy in that city.
The man is considered a person of interest in the Sally Beauty Supply store robbery in Batavia on Feb. 9, according to Deputy Chief Jerome Brewster.
The same man is also considered a suspect in robberies in Corning and Big Flats. (More)
In all four robberies, the perpetrator wore a black ski mask and carried a big knife.
According to a news report, Owego police officers responded last night to a call of a robbery in progress at the CVS store and confronted a suspect. The suspect reportedly fled on foot and after a two-block foot chase, he was tackled.
Officers reportedly used force to subdue the suspect, who, according to sources, suffered two broken arms legs and cuts.
The suspect in the Owego robbery has been identified by law enforcement sources as John R. Malowsky, a registered Level 3 sex offender with prior convictions for assault, 2nd, and robbery, 3rd, in 1976 and two counts of robbery, 1st, sexual abuse, 1st, and rape ,1st, in 1983 in Genesee County. He was sentenced to 12 to 25 years in prison, reportedly released sometime prior to May 2011, violated parole and re-incarcerated. He was released from prison most recently in October.
Brewster declined to specifically name Malowsky as a suspect, but did say that the man arrested in Owego was the same person Sheriff's investigators had been looking at.
The Sally Beauty store person of interest was interviewed by investigators earlier this week at his place of employment. After that, his wife reported him missing, Brewster said.
"We were putting together a pretty darn good case," Brewster said. "We interviewed him and then he disappeared."
The person contacted by the Sheriff's Office as a person of interest was brought to the attention of investigators, Brewster said, by a parole officer who said he recognized the possible suspect vehicle identified in media reports.
No charges have been filed yet in any of the four suspected robberies.
Alecia Kaus contributed to this story.