Teen Charged in 2 Attacks, 1 Hold-Up

Police have charged a 16-year-old with three muggings in July, two in which the victims were badly beaten and a third involving a gun, according to police reports.

Detectives linked the three cases due to a similar MO in which the mugger stopped the vicitms by asking for the time, said Deputy Inspector Elvio Capocci, head of the 77th Precinct. Other details furher linked the cases.

On July 30, a 26-year-old man was attacked by three muggers on St. Marks Avenue between Carlton and Flatbush avenues. The man was walking home at about 2 a.m. a man came up to him from behind and asked him the time. The victim continued walking and the mugger grabbed him. Two other men joined in and the three pushed the victim to the ground while punching and kicking him in the head and body. One of the men then took the man’s wallet and iPhone out of his pockets and the trio ran off, according to a police report. 

The teen is also charged with holding up a 31-year-old man the same evening at 8:07 p.m. The man was on Pacific Street at Underhill Avenue when he was approached by a man who was riding a bicycle who asked for the time. Then a second man, also riding a bicycle, cut the victim off, showed him a black handgun and asked him to hand over his phone. The victim gave him a $600 white iPhone 4S and the pair fled. 

In the third incident, on July 14, a 23-year-old man was walking with a friend between Washington and Underhill at 3:50 a.m., when a man of about 25 came up to him and asked him the time. The victim said he felt uncomfortable and kept walking and the attacker grabbed him, ripped off his shirt and punched him in the mouth, “causing substantial pain, swelling and blood,” according to a police report. No property was taken. The victim was taken to Methodist Hospital. 

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The teen was arrested shortly after the July 30 attacks, when two plainclothes detectives stopped two men for riding bicycles on the sidewalk, suspecting they might be connected to the muggings, said Officer Tania Salters of the 77th Precinct. Detectives determined that one of them fit the profile for the three robberies, and a victim identified the teen in a line-up.

The two other victims failed to come back to the precinct for the line-ups, but detectives believed there was still enough evidence to charge the teen for all three, Salters said.

Not returning for a line-up is more common than one might think, Salters said.

“A lot of times, victims are not following through,” she said.

“People will report crimes, the detectives will get people who they believe are the perpetrators, and then the victims no longer want to be bothered with the process,” she said. “But they need victim cooperation, to come in and fully ID the suspect …  If they don’t follow through to prosecution, then (the suspects) are free to do it again.”

Despite the arrest, attacks have continued with three in August. Since June there have been at least nine attacks in Prospect Heights, route: {:controller=>"articles", :action=>"show", :id=>"man-beaten-on-underhill-avenue"} --> in addition to