Targeted senior
In what may have been the latest instance of the sickening and cowardly “knockout game,” a man believed to be in his 20s apparently targeted a West Village senior, then suddenly sucker-punched him, leaving the older man with a blood clot on the brain and a bruise on his left eye.
The victim was identified as Donald Lathrom, 72, a former taxi driver who lives at the Jane St. Hotel. He was walking home to the hotel, at Jane and West Sts., around 5:30 p.m. on Mon., Aug. 11, according to news reports, carrying a six-pack of Bud Light from a nearby store, while listening to Bach on his headphones.
“I had seen him coming, but didn’t pay him any mind.” Lathrom told the Daily News. “He didn’t say anything — nothing. Then I found myself on the ground near a planter.”
After the attack, Lathrom was treated and recovered at Beth Israel Medical Center.
The New York Post described Lathrom as a lung cancer survivor who is in remission.
Lathrom told The Post he doesn’t really remember the attack, which left him “stunned” and “confused.”
“I just remembered saying, ‘What happened?’” he recalled asking of a doorman who rushed to his aide. “Basically, I just walked by somebody, and he wound up punching me hard. I didn’t see him coming.”
The Post reported that, after the incident, Lathrom told police he had seen the suspects, believed to be in their early 20s, after leaving the deli at W. 12th St. and Eighth Ave. a few minutes before the assault — leading investigators to believe the men intentionally targeted him.
Lathrom believes he was the latest victim of the “knockout game” — in which an assailant tries to deck a target with one blow while a sidekick shoots video and posts it online.
“That’s what I think it is,” he told the Post. “If it was a robbery, he’d have gone through my pockets or attempted to take something. I had an iPad and a Kindle reader. There was no attempt to take anything.”
The attack was caught on surveillance video. No arrests have been made.
Police ask anyone with information on the assault to call the Crime Stoppers tips hotline at (800) 577-TIPS.
Filched phone
A 25-year-old man crossing the street near the southwest corner of W. Fourth St. and Sixth Ave. was the victim of a snatch and run early on the morning of Sat., Aug. 16. Police responded soon after the incident, which occurred at about 2:30 a.m., and came across Carali Ramos, 22, who admitted to police that she had an iPhone that did not belong to her, police said. The victim recognized the alleged perpetrator and recovered the phone, valued at $120. Police charged Ramos with felony grand larceny.
Van dog had wounds
On Fri., Aug. 8, police followed up on 13 community complaints regarding a mistreated dog living near the southwest corner of Greenwich and Clarkson Sts. According to police, an officer observed open wounds on the dog’s back, as well as insects feasting around festering wounds.
The canine’s owner, a well-known regular of the corner, could not provide any documentation of recent medical care for the dog. Police noted in a report that the pooch appeared to have adequate shelter given the circumstances.
They removed the dog from the scene for its own good after consulting with the A.S.P.C.A. A veterinarian will examine the animal to make a determination on whether the creature suffered from neglect.
Police arrested James Tarangelo that same day and charged him with aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony. Tarangelo, who grew up in the area, lives with his dogs in a van parked on the street at the location.
Socks safe cyclist
When a bicyclist fell off his ride early last Thursday after trying to avoid a collision with a pedestrian, he got a punch in the face for his efforts.
According to police, Gregory Enix also struck the 31-year-old victim in the head in the 4:20 a.m. Aug. 14 incident, causing abrasions to the cyclist’s chin and lips, as well as tenderness to the bridge of his nose.
During the attack, the alleged perpetrator then grabbed an iPhone 5, valued at $300, from the victim’s right rear shorts pocket and took off on foot. Police later caught up with Enix who had the now-cracked phone on his person. He was charged with felony robbery.
Slaughters windows
While walking along W. Fourth St. at about 6 a.m. on Wed., Aug. 13, a 22-year-old man observed another man smash the windows of the Slaughtered Lamb pub with his fists before fleeing.
Police canvassed the area and found Hassau Powell, 49 in a cellar stairwell in front of 181 W. Fourth St. In his left shirt pocket, police reportedly discovered a small ziplock bag containing what appeared to be marijuana. Powell was charged with felony criminal mischief.
Smashed her with pan
A woman waiting for an elevator inside of 28 E. 10 St. was struck by a frying pan at about 11:15 a.m. on Aug. 12.
According to police, video surveillance and a witness in an elevator attested that the perpetrator “aggressively” dragged the 57-year-old victim, pulled her to the floor and dragged her by the hair.
Police responding to a radio call arrested Jaime McKeown, 56, and charged her with felony assault. It remains unclear whether the victim and perpetrator knew each other prior to the incident, according to police.
— Zach Williams
