NYPD Gets Its Guy, Nabs Suspect In Violent Cellphone Robbery Of 10-Year-Old
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police have made an arrest in the case of a 10-year-old girl brutally assaulted for her cellphone.
The incident happened in the late afternoon on May 25 in the Bronx. The victim was entering her building near Holland Avenue and Pelham Parkway North when she was attacked in the vestibule, pushed to the ground and robbed of her iPhone 7-plus.
The suspect then quickly fled the scene.
The girl had been using the phone to FaceTime with her mom on her way home from a deli across the street.
"I was talking to her on the phone… I thought it was kids playing downstairs," the girl's mother told CBS2's Reena Roy. "She was coming out of the elevator crying. She starts telling me, 'mommy they steal me, mommy they steal me.'"
Police at the time said the girl was in stable condition, but her glasses broke.
"I just let her breathe for a few minutes and then I start talking to her," the mother said. "She told me, 'mommy, they steal your phone, mommy they steal what I purchased.' I'm like, 'that's fine, I just want you to tell me who did it,'
"I was mad because she's 10 years old," she added. "I'm still mad, I'm still mad, if I'm being honest, I'm still mad. But I just have to be strong enough for her."
Authorities said the arrest in the case was a byproduct of community policing. Neighborhood Coordination Officer Daisy Sanchez got a tip from the many relationships she's made on the streets from someone who said they recognized the man in the video.
"I received a text message on my day off, which was Sunday June 3rd, by an anonymous female who works in the district that I currently patrol," she said.
Officer Sanchez then turned the information over to Police Officer Alisa Colon, which led to the arrest of 39-year-old Marcos Lazaro, who lives a few blocks away and has two prior arrests for burglary and grand larceny.
"It makes our job a little bit easier knowing that the community can reach out and actually trust some of us," said Officer Colon.
"I'm happy, I'm relieved. Hope everything goes smoothly," the girl's mother said. "I'm happy, because at least it means we protect each other."
