L.E.S. ‘bike rapist’ surrenders
On Sat., Nov. 28, a man wanted in connection with a rape in East River Park three days earlier surrendered to authorities.
According to police, on Wed., Nov. 25, around 7:30 p.m., a 26-year-old woman was jogging in the East Side park, near Cherry St., when the suspect, riding a bicycle, approached her and motioned for her to be quiet.
The victim turned around and started to run in the opposite direction, but the suspect grabbed her hair, put his arm around her throat and pulled her into the nearby East River Park amphitheater, where he raped her. The suspect then reportedly stole the woman’s phone and credit cards and fled the scene.
The victim was removed to Beth Israel Hospital where she was treated and released.
Police circulated video surveillance of the suspect using the victim’s credit card in a deli, and requested that confidential tips be sent to the N.Y.P.D. CrimeStoppers hotline.
“Numerous tips” reportedly flooded in, leading to the victim being identified as Paul Niles, 28.
Police then released a photo of Niles from an October 2015 arrest for endangering the welfare of a child in the 106th Precinct, in south central Queens.
After he turned himself in to police in Queens, Niles — who had shaved off his short dreadlocks after the alleged rape — was charged with first-degree rape, second-degree robbery and third-degree identity theft.
During the course of the investigation, a second woman, 56, reportedly told police that she was groped by the suspect, also on Wed., Nov. 25, at 6:45 p.m. — 45 minutes before the other woman was raped in the amphitheater.
The second woman said that while she was walking in the vicinity of the F.D.R. Drive and Grand St., the suspect approached her and attempted to engage her in a conversation before grabbing her buttocks and fleeing the location on a bicycle. In connection with that earlier incident, Niles was additionally charged with forcible touching.
The New York Post reported that Niles was homeless and has “numerous arrests” in New York and Maryland for assault, gun possession and robbery. The tabloid said that Niles threatened to shoot the woman before raping her in the amphitheater. His defense attorney reportedly said his client had not admitted to raping the woman and “had been in and out of homeless shelters prior to the attack.”
Canned in Duane Reade
Plenty of cans came in handy for a 40-year-old woman who refused to leave a Duane Reade at 378 Sixth Ave. A store employee asked her to leave the premises numerous times on Thurs., Nov. 19. But instead of honoring that request, Sara Laurentz allegedly threatened to beat the 26-year-old female employee with a bagful of cans, police said.
Laurentz was arrested and charged with misdemeanor menacing.
N.Y.U. ‘fleshman’
Police arrested a 46-year-old man on Sat., Nov. 21, for allegedly exposing himself inside an N.Y.U. building eight days earlier. A police report stated that Sam Moto, 34, entered 18 Washington Place on Fri., Nov. 13. He sat down at about 2:30 p.m., then undressed and exposed his penis to an employee, police said. A police report did not state how police found him more than a week later.
Moto was charged with public lewdness, a misdemeanor.
Soup ’n’ slug
After Manraj Multani, 20, broke two plates at Soup ’N’ Burger at 739 Broadway, a store employee told him to leave on Sun., Nov. 22. The 28-year-old employee approached Multani just before 5 a.m. and requested that he beat it. But he refused, police said, and slugged the employee in response. Police arrived soon after and arrested Multani for misdemeanor assault.
Wheelie short chase
The chase began shortly after 5 a.m. on Sun., Nov. 29. Police said they tried to stop a cyclist who ran two red lights. But instead of obeying, the biker tried to escape by riding on the sidewalk on W. 13th St., Sixth Ave. and W. 12th St. However, the cops were able to catch the suspect at the northeast corner of W. 12th St. and Seventh Ave. shortly afterward.
A police report stated that Michael Palacios, 24, had a glass pipe with narcotics residue on his person. He was arrested and charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor.
Piss-poor excuse
Police said they found “dangerous weapons” on a man who they saw urinating on a public telephone on Fri., Nov. 27. The suspect was allegedly relieving himself near the northeast corner of Eighth Ave. and W. 14th St. when police approached him at about 5:20 p.m. They reportedly found a crack pipe and pepper spray in his possession.
Price Coifed, 55, told police that he uses the pepper spray for protection. He was charged with felony weapon possession.
Not-so ‘civic’ driver
Police said an intoxicated driver crashed a silver 2014 Honda Civic on Mon., Nov. 23, in front of 534 Hudson St. A police report did not state whether any other vehicles were involved in the incident, but police surmised a cause at about 3:30 a.m. when they saw the driver’s allegedly bloodshot eyes and caught the odor of booze on his breath, according to the report.
New Jersey resident Srdan Glisic, 29, reportedly blew a .19 blood alcohol level at the Seventh Precinct stationhouse following his arrest and was charged with misdemeanor drunk driving.
Subway sleazo
A 60-year-old man had a way of getting caught for allegedly getting his sexual kicks in the subway system on the night of Wed., Nov. 24. Police said that he boarded a southbound 1 train and rubbed the left leg of a 13-year-old girl sitting next to him as the train rolled into the Christopher St. station at about 11:30 p.m. He stayed on the train and police were unable to catch him until he popped up several hours later at the W. 28th St. station.
The perpetrator walked up to a token booth clerk, exposed his genitals and began playing with them at 3:40 a.m., according to a police report. Police came to the station and arrested Connecticut resident Jesus Ayala for misdemeanor sexual abuse.
‘Swipe’ bust
Asking for a free swipe into the subway resulted in a trip to jail for a 21-year-old on Fri., Nov. 27. Police said they saw Terry Pittman asking for a free fare at the Eighth Avenue L train station at about 6 p.m. They searched his person after arresting him and discovered a scalpel blade in the possession of the transit recidivist, according to a police report.
Pittman vainly pleaded that the blade was for personal protection. He was charged with felony weapon possession.
— Zach Williams and Lincoln Anderson
