Teen Charged In Connection With Metal On Tracks Subway 'C' Train Incident
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The NYPD apprehended a teenage suspect Tuesday afternoon in connection to a scary incident that stopped a subway train last week.
Keyshawn Brown, 16, was arrested around 4:30 p.m. by officers in the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, sources told CBS2.
Brown went with officers peacefully from his home in East New York, Brooklyn, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported. He's charged with arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, Rincon reported.
NYPD Holds Teen In Connection With Metal On Tracks Subway 'C' Train Incident
Brown, whose nickname is "Train Boy," has an arrest record and may be responsible for other acts of vandalism, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported Tuesday.
It was a stunning, startling and extremely dangerous stunt that crippled a southbound "C" train last Thursday. A piece of metal placed on the track hit the third rail when the train went over it, causing an electrical arc of sparks that brought the train to a sudden stop. The incident halted service for more than an hour during the busy morning rush. Kramer reported.
The NYPD earlier Tuesday had tweeted out an old-fashioned wanted poster for Brown, saying he was wanted for reckless endangerment and damaging Metropolitan Transportation Authority property.
This is not Brown's first brush with the law. The teenager pleaded guilty last month to assault with a weapon, a felony, Kramer reported.
The criminal complaint filed against him charged that he used a metal pipe to beat an associate over the head and telling him, "That's what you get for snitching."
In the incident in which he was accused Tuesday, Brown allegedly placed a metal rail sign across the tracks in the path of the C Train, causing the explosion. He allegedly caused $5,037 in damage to MTA property, sources said.
Brown may be behind a number of other subway incidents, including possible acts of vandalism, Kramer reported. Sources told CBS2 that police are investigating a possible connection between the explosion video and one where several young men are seen repeatedly re-opening the doors of a subway car, preventing the train from leaving a station.
Sources said the police probe is following an online trail that includes posts that show the changing of destination signs on a subway car, explain how train signs are stolen and another on trespassing underground. There is also an online post about subway signs hanging from a tree with the notation "the national conquestors flag."
A group of Brooklyn teens reportedly call themselves the "Conquestors," as in their conquest is to attack the subway system, Kramer reported.
No one else will be charged in the subway incident last week, sources said.
Brown had been expected to be arraigned Tuesday night, sources said.
Brown is also due in court on April 22 for sentencing on the assault rap. He could get up to a year in jail in that case.
