Woman Robbed, Raped At Knifepoint In Bushwick; Man In Custody
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD late Wednesday was questioning a person of interest in the rape and robbery of a 27-year-old woman in Brooklyn.
As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, a 52-year-old man was in custody Wednesday night in connection with the knifepoint attack, which happened around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
CBS2's Dave Carlin reported the man threatened to kill the woman in the incident that occurred on DeKalb Avenue in Bushwick.
The attack happened in front of an upscale residential building with sophisticated security.
Building employees said the crime was caught on security video that is now with police, but is not being made public.
Police said it shows a man they believe followed the victim after she got off a J train around 2:30 a.m. at the Kosciuszko Street subway station.
Investigators said she was stalked for about three blocks until he attacked her. She was only two blocks away from where she lived.
Police said the man then forced her into a dark corner next to a parking lot, stole her cash and phone, and raped her.
Police said the victim told them her attacker said, "Don't tell police or I will kill you." The suspect then gave her phone back, but kept and money and fled.
But an unusual break in the case came Wednesday morning, when the suspect himself called 911 from a payphone.
An officer saw a man matching the suspect's description and brought him in for questioning. He is currently being called a person of interest and is being put in suspect lineups for the victim to identify.
Police sources told CBS2 the person of interest was arrested at a pay phone after calling "911 requesting a ride."
"The call comes over as a dispute, over by Stanhope (Street). They get there. They meet the male. As the officers are talking to him, he says, 'What I really want is a ride to the train. My cop says: 'Well, we don't give rides to the train. How can we help you?'" said NYPD Deputy Inspector Maximo Tolentino. "As they're talking to him, they realized something's not right."
So the officers – recognizing the suspect by his distinct red sneakers – did agree to give him a ride, straight to the 83rd Police Precinct.
"The officers realized -- this is the guy," Tolentino said. "They said, 'Well, listen, we'll give you a ride, but we have a policy -- department policy -- that we don't let someone get into a car unless we know what someone has in their pockets, so do you have anything that can harm us?' and he says, 'I have a knife,' and pulled it out from his back pocket. The officers charge him for possession of a gravity knife and place him under arrest."
Records show the suspect is a Level 3 sex offender and has 14 prior arrests for robbery, drug possession, possession of stolen property, criminal mischief and rape -- for which he was arrested in 1984. He spent 17 years in state prison and was paroled in 2002.
The NYPD confirmed rapes in the area are up 32 percent over last year, and 21 percent so far this year, compared to 16 percent for the same period last year.
Residents said they are worried.
"For me coming home from work, you don't know if somebody's watching me, and then that happens and that's pretty scary," said Shaunatay Henderson.
Maggie Garcia said, "The cops should be a little bit more around the train station to make sure everyone's a little bit more protected."
"I thought this neighborhood was on the up, but apparently not," added Tisha St. John. "But I think a lot of people are out that are not 100 percent should be out."
Police said the investigation was ongoing late Wednesday and the suspect had not been charged.
