Pleads in gang attack A 16-year-old Newark resident pleaded guilty to robbery on Sept. 5 in connection with the Aug. 30 assault and robbery of a man on Mercer St. just south of Houston St., a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney said.
Charles Johnson was one of a gang of eight teenagers who approached the victim, 17, at 6:35 a.m., pulled his hair and forced him to surrender two porn DVDs and a pedometer, according to the charges. Police stopped the group at Grand and Mercer Sts. a short time later and Johnson was the only one the victim was able to identify.
Johnson was charged with robbery and possession of stolen property and pleaded guilty to the robbery charge. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15.
Cane blow A resident of Thompson St. between Houston and Prince Sts. told police that she was entering her building at 2 p.m. Fri., Aug. 29 when an angry 80-year-old neighbor whom she knows only as “Tony” shouted at her, “You’re embarrassing my wife. Leave her alone,” and then hit her in the left ankle with his cane.
Van break-in The driver of a delivery van told police he parked on South End Ave. in Battery Park City at 2 p.m. Tues. Aug., 26 and made a delivery to 2 World Financial Center. When he returned he found the locked rear door of the van had been opened and three boxes of various items, with a total value of $500, were gone.
Razor slash A woman on her way to work Downtown was stopped by her ex-boyfriend at the northwest corner of Broadway and Cortlandt St. at 8 a.m. Wed. Aug., 27, police said. The man, who had ridden to the location on a bicycle, backed her into a doorway, slashed her face with a razor and fled on his bike. The victim was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital for treatment.
— Albert Amateau
