Gregory Dotson, 30, was masked and armed with an ice pick or a screwdriver and demanded cash from front counter employees on Nov. 19, Nov. 23 and Dec. 2., according to Suffolk police, who also said that Dotson received about $2,000 cash in the robberies.
X Dreams II sells DVDs, magazines and adult toys, and also offers live nude entertainment.
A store manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that X Dreams has been held up five times in past weeks. Dotson has not been charged in the remaining other robberies.
The store manager told reporters that Dotson had worked at X Dreams II for about four months before being fired during the summer for poor performance.
"He wasn't doing a good job. He was coming late and things like that," the manager said.
The manager said that in two of the alleged robberies, Dotson drove his own car to the store, which employees recognized. And during one of the holdups, Dotson's mask "fell off," the manager said, "and one of my guys [saw] him."
Det. Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky said at least one XDreams II employee has picked Dotson out of a lineup.
Dotson was arraigned in 1st District Court in Central Islip Dec. 6 on three counts of robbery, the Suffolk County district attorney's office told reporters. One count is first-degree robbery, a Class B felony that carries a sentence of five to 25 years in prison upon conviction.
Dotson is being held in lieu of $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond and is due back in court Dec. 11.
