After String of 5 Muggings in Central Park in 5 Days, NYPD Boosts Patrols
A string of muggings in Central Park in recent days prompted the NYPD boosts their patrols after five incidents were reported in the span of five days. A suspect in one incident was arrested and charged with grand larceny while suspects in the other attacks remain at large.
| 29 Apr 2024 | 07:19
59 East Drive Central Park where a reported grand larceny took place on April 29 at 10 a.m. and the suspect, a 42-year-old man, Fontaine Moise, was named, who snatched 35-year-old woman’s phone by Swan Lake was arrested.
The NYPD boosted their number of patrols these past few days after string of five violent muggings in Central Park that included two robberies, one attempted robbery and two grand larcenies in a four day period from April 25 to April 29.
Crime in the park has soared to 400 percent year to date with 15 incidents as of April 23, compared to three in the same period a year prior, NYPD data show. The latest attacks are not yet included in the Y-T-D statistics.
The latest crime wave began when a 28-year-old woman was walking westbound on W. 97th Street and West Drive when a pervert grabbed her by the arm and demanded money, on April 25 at 7:18 p.m. The suspect punched the victim in the face, then brushed against her chest with his arm and took her phone.
Most recently, a 35-year-old woman was walking and snapping pictures by Swan Lake when a 42-year-old man snatched her phone and threw it into a pond at 59 East Drive on April 29 at 10 a.m., police confirmed. In that case, suspect Fontaine Moise, was arrested less than two hours later and charged with grand larceny, according to a police spokesperson.
Another grand larceny incident occurred a short time later on April 27 around 1 p.m., on E. 74 Street and East Drive when a suspect approached a 46-year-old man and stole a bag containing camera equipment worth between $2,000 and $3,000, then ran eastbound towards 5th Avenue, police said.
An attempted robbery was thwarted on April 26 when a 25-year-old man was approached from behind by two teen suspects who attempted to grab his phone from his hand, around 9:40 p.m. at 109th St. and East Drive. After one suspect pulled out a gun to threaten the victim, Ashikur Chowdhury, called the gunman’s bluff.
“You are going to shoot me over a phone?” Chowdhury told the suspect, according to the New York Post. “You don’t have the balls to shoot me.”
Chowdury said he works with special needs kids and caught the vulnerability in the young suspect’s eyes. The ploy worked; the two suspects, ran off southbound without his phone.
Earlier on the same day, a gunpoint robbery was reported at 59th St. and East Drive when a 41-year-old man was taking pictures of the lake, and three men approached him at 6:12 a.m. One of the men punched the victim in the face and took his two phones, and his wallet. The suspects then fled northbound on their mopeds on the bike path heading toward Swan Lake. The victim suffered minor injuries to his face and EMS (Emergency Medical Service) took him to Lenox Hospital, police said.
Only the suspect from the April 29 incident was arrested. All incidents are part of ongoing investigations, according to police.
Most recently, a 35-year-old woman was walking and taking pictures by Swan Lake when a 42-year-old man snatched her phone and threw it into a pond at 59 East Drive in the Central Park precinct, on April 29 at 10 a.m., the DCPI confirmed. The suspect, Fontaine Moise, was arrested shortly after and charged with grand larceny, said a police spokesperson.
Crime in the park has soared to 400 percent, with 15 incidents through April 23 compared to three in the same period a year prior, NYPD data show. The latest incidents were not included the Y-T-D statistics.
Of the five recent incidents, only one suspect from the April 29 mugging has been arrested.