CBS2 Exclusive: Woman Recalls Violent Run-In With Alleged Serial Attacker
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The NYPD has arrested the suspect wanted in a series of attacks on elderly women in Brooklyn and Queens.
Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Clarence Jones was arrested Monday morning at 11:35 a.m. at Lincoln Place in Brooklyn.
As CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported, police said Jones, 66, has a long history of preying on the most vulnerable victims he could find, and often beat the elderly, threatening them with a gun or knife.
Boyce said Jones was wanted in connection with eight robberies targeting senior citizens. Some of his victims were in their 80s or 90s, and a number were roughed up.
Speaking exclusively with CBS2's Conybeare on Monday night, one Jones' alleged victims said she won't let a terrifying attack slow her down.
"I hope he's done. I hope they don't let him out again," 83-year-old Erin Van Schendel said.
Jones was on parole for a similar incident in 2014, Boyce said.
"He clobbered me, I think," Van Schendel said. "He hit me."
Van Schendel still takes her two chihuahuas out for walks by herself. She was assaulted in March, when she said the suspect followed her into her Ocean Parkway building after grocery shopping.
"My idea was to just get away," she told CBS2.
Police had released multiple surveillance videos of the grey haired suspect who was often seen in a black jacket or hoodie, starting in January.
"The fact that he had grey hair under the hoodie is how they got him," Boyce said.
Boyce said Jones was arrested after a tip came in to the Crime Stoppers hotline. The tip came in at 11:15 a.m. and by 11:35, the suspect was in custody, Boyce said.
"Think about the timeframe there," Boyce said. "Because of what we have, smart phones and an ability to put people out immediately and deploy. So we got this individual today."
Van Schendel's son said he's relieved because the heartless suspect would have likely found another defenseless senior citizen.
"They are very vulnerable and I really think that's the most despicable thing," Marc Van Schendel said.
His mother's black eyes have healed, and she's even able to laugh about the suspect walking away empty handed after the attack.
"I didn't have any money, but I'd have put up a fight," she said.
A 91-year-old woman was attacked in Park Slope, both victims were targeted as they entered their homes.
Jones has 19 prior arrests and spent 14 years in prison for a similar crime.
