Cab Driver Slashed In Queens; Suspect May Be Tied To Homeless Shelter Death
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD is searching for a suspect that allegedly slashed a cab driver during a robbery in Queens early Saturday morning.
According to police, the Manuel Vera, a 43-year-old cab driver, was stopped at Van Cleef Street in the Corona section of Queens shortly after midnight when William Smith, 53, demanded money from the victim. During the struggle, the cab driver was slashed multiple times in the back and neck, police said.
Smith fled the scene empty-handed, police said. The livery driver was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and is expected to recover.
"We are very concerned with the weapons of choice that perps are using now," New York Federation of Taxi Drivers spokesperson Fernando Mateo said in a statement. "Box cutters and knifes don't carry much weight in court and many are getting away with little or no jail sentences."
Sources told 1010 WINS' Roger Stern that Smith left a cell phone and wallet behind.
Smith is also wanted for questioning in connection to another incident, where a 56-year-old man was found dead with injuries to his neck in a third-floor bedroom at the Bellevue Men's Shelter on East 30th Street at First Avenue.
Investigators say their first clues possibly linking the two crimes are things they say the suspect left behind: his wallet with I.D. and a cellphone, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
They were inside the cab, which the injured driver managed to lock so the suspect could not get back in and get them. The injured cabbie's mother told CBS2 her son feels lucky to be alive.
Residents of the Bellevue Men's Shelter say without better protections and security cameras they could be in grave danger.
"There's no real protection here, there's no real security. People can come and go as they please. Every man for themselves," shelter user Matthew Simond told CBS2.
The victim's roommate was originally suspected as the attacker. According to the NYPD, the victim's roommate was questioned and released. Police say Smith was also staying at the shelter at the time of the victim's death.
No arrests have been made.
