Police are looking for a man who raped two women, one on Sept. 30 and the other on Fri., Oct. 26, after picking them up in front of The Box, a trendy Lower East Side club that attracts celebrities.
The suspect, a white male imperfectly described as taller than 5’8”, weighing as much as 200 pounds and between 25 and 40 years old, picked up both victims in front of the club at 189 Chrystie St. between Stanton and Rivington Sts.
Both times, the victims, who are white and in their 20s, were drunk, lured or forced into a vehicle at 3 a.m. and raped and robbed in the car at unknown locations, police said.
The first victim, 25, was grabbed from behind and dragged into an SUV, which she described as white but which other witnesses said was black. The suspect forced her to drink something that made her pass out, drove over a bridge, and raped and sodomized her in the vehicle. He then forced her to withdraw $500 from an A.T.M. on Metropolitan Ave., in Forest Hills, Queens and left her on the street.
On Oct. 26, the victim, 23, was hailing a cab when the suspect drove up in a black car that he indicated was for hire. He drove her over a bridge, blindfolded her at one point and pulled into an alley where he raped her and made her give up her A.T.M. card and PIN. He then drove her back to the Lower East Side and dumped her at Ludlow and Stanton Sts., five blocks from The Box.
A spokesperson for the club said that the owners and management were appalled at the events and were doing whatever they could to help police, according to the Daily News and New York Post.
Slashed on Worth St. Police charged two men, Daryl Samuels, 20, of Manhattan, and Darren Francis, 20, of Brooklyn, with assault for slashing a man on the head during an argument on Worth St. at W. Broadway at 4:16 a.m. Sat., Oct. 27. Their arraignment was scheduled for next week.
Catherine stabbings Jamie Munoz, 25, a resident of Minnesota, got into a violent argument with a 20-year-old man at 3:55 a.m. Wed., Oct. 24, pursued him and shouted threats, then stabbed him in the back and in the face at the corner of Henry and Catherine Sts., police said. He was charged with assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
There was also a stabbing at 10:20 p.m. Mon., Oct. 22 a block away at Catherine at Madison Sts., police said. It ended with the arrest of Angel Otero, 24, charged with assault for a knife attack on a 35-year-old victim. Otero was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail pending a Dec. 4 court appearance.
Police impersonation A Brooklyn man, 26, got out of a cab on Grand St. between W. Broadway and Thompson St. at about 10:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 20 when four strangers grabbed him, pushed him against a wall and flashed gold badges, police said. The four, described only as white males, told the victim he matched the description of someone they were looking for. They frisked him and took his cell phone and $100 just as he broke free and ran to where he worked on the block. The victim phoned 911 but the four fake policemen fled.
King St. holdup Four women in their early 20s were walking on King St. between Varick St. and Sixth Ave. at about 1 a.m. Mon, Oct. 22 when they heard a voice behind them saying “Hey girls, gimme your money,” according to police. A man, described only as black, about 5’6” and holding a handgun, took $20 and a cell phone from one of the victims and fled, police said.
Beauty heist A man walked into a beauty salon at 120 Thompson St. at about 6:15 p.m. Thurs., Oct. 25, asked a woman employee, 23, if she had any makeup for sale and then pulled a gun from his waistband, police said. The gunman forced the employee to put money in a plastic bag, ordered her to lie on the floor and count to 100, and then fled with about $300, police said.
Robbed drinking friend Police charged William Galloway, 36, with pulling a gun and taking $430 from a man he had been drinking with at Club 205 at 205 Chrystie St. near Stanton St. at 4:30 a.m. Fri., Oct. 26. Galloway, who lives on Bowery, had been drinking with the victim for three hours, walked out with him at closing, then robbed him after they had walked to the corner of Delancey St., police said.
Subway punch-up A man and a woman were arrested on Wednesday morning Oct. 24 for fighting on the Downtown platform of the Broadway-Nassau St. (A,C) station. Darnell McGhee, 36, was charged with third degree assault, and Valery Hyppolite, 35, was apparently not charged, according to the office of District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.
Cable box theft A resident of 145 Spring St. between Wooster St. and W. Broadway discovered on Friday afternoon Oct. 26 that someone had entered his apartment via the fire escape, took a cable box that was on the window sill and then fled the same way he came in, police said. The victim found his wife’s bag on the first floor landing of the fire escape but nothing was missing from it, police said.
Returns to scene
A suspect charged with breaking into a boutique at 97 Wooster St. during the early hours of Sun., Oct. 21 was arrested at about 5:30 p.m. that evening when an investigating officer saw him riding past the store on a bicycle with a handbag and a guitar that had been stolen from the shop, police said. Simon Mendez, 44, was charged with burglary and grand larceny.
Coach robbed Three men walked into the Coach Leather shop at 143 Prince St. near W. Broadway at 7:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 19, grabbed bags off the shelves and stuffed them into a large plaid plastic bag they had brought with them, and fled, police said. A store employee phoned 911 but the thieves, who had taken bags with a total value of $4,148, were not apprehended.
Assault arrest Police charged Steve Joseph, 24, with assault and resisting arrest after an incident at 1:50 a.m. Sun., Oct. 28 at Prince St. and Bowery. Joseph was among a group of men who attacked a man on a bicycle, police said. When police in a passing patrol car stopped him, he fought and injured one of the officers before he was subdued, police said. The other suspects escaped.
— Albert Amateau
