'If You See Him, Call 911': Police Want Your Help Finding Keon Robinson, 'Highly Dangerous' Serial Robbery, Sex Assault Suspect
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Is he a one-man crime wave?
Police have identified a man who they say is wanted for questioning in connection with several robberies, including the brutal beating and sexual assault of a German tourist in Harlem last week.
Investigators say they are looking for 28-year-old Keon Robinson. As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, police are issuing a rare public plea to try to find him.
"If you see him, call 911. If you know where he is, please call our tips number. He's a highly dangerous individual. He knows we're looking for him," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce.
Recently released from jail, Robinson is a Level 3 sex offender – the highest level there is. The NYPD has linked him to three recent crimes, and they want to prevent a fourth.
In the first incident on April 24, police said he attacked a 35-year-old woman in front of 130 Bradhurst Ave., between 148th and 149th streets. In that incident, they say he walked up to a woman and said: "This can be easy. I have a gun. Just give me your bag."
The woman screamed, and he punched her repeatedly before running off with her purse, according to police. He was captured on surveillance video at a Home Depot in the Bronx the next day using the woman's credit card.
Police also linked him to another robbery on Thursday Apr. 27 on 139th Street. In that incident, he again told his victim he wouldn't hurt him if he simply gave up his money. He got away with $40, police said.
And this past Thursday, May 4, police say he attacked a German tourist as she walked to her Airbnb just before 3 a.m. on West 149 Street. Graphic surveillance video shows the 31-year-old woman struggling with a man for her purse as he repeatedly punches her, police said.
"He comes up to her, puts her in kind of like a headlock, and says 'Give me your bag, I have a gun,'" said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce. "He then proceeds to punch her several times, puts her on the ground, and then sexually assaults her on the ground."
The video is described as one of the more graphic videos police have ever seen. They also said at some point during the attack, he injured his hand and left a blood trail.
"I don't understand how somebody could rob somebody, much less beat them and rob them," said William Hassell of Harlem.
And since Robinson is a sex offender, his DNA is on file.
See Previous CBS2 Coverage Of The Incident Below:
Robinson spent seven years behind bars after pleading guilty nine years ago in a robbery and sex assault case, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported. Robinson got out of jail in July of 2014, and got sent back to jail in 2016 for six months for violating his parole. He was released in January of this year, Boyce said.
Boyce said on Twitter Monday morning that Robinson is known to frequent the 81st precinct in Brooklyn, which includes the Bedford-Stuyvesant and Stuyvesant Heights neighborhoods.
Police said multiple people have identified the man in the videos of the most recent incidents as Robinson.
"I hope that that lady is OK, and I really hope you all catch this guy," Hassell told CBS2's Jessica Layton.
"Of course it's frightening, because I have to walk this way every day," one resident said.
"It's disgusting. It's disappointing," said Damon Eden of East Harlem. "You know, this neighborhood has been improving over the last several decades. You hate to hear about someone who doesn't act or have respect for other humans."
Anyone with information about either case is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Police stressed that Robinson is dangerous.
