A 13-year-old has been arrested in connection with a series of violent robberies on the Upper West Side this year. The teen, whose name hasn't been released because of his age, is allegedly part of a teen gang who menaced at least five different people, most of them minors, between January 22 and February 7. He has been charged with robbery.
The 13-year-old was busted for a robbery which occurred on Feb. 4th. During that incident, a 13-year-old male victim was walking in the vicinity of West 93 Street and Columbus Avenue around 7 a.m. when the gang approached him, and the suspect grabbed his neck and said, "Don't scream." They then demanded his cell phone, but the victim struggled with them and the teens fled empty handed.
The first incident involving the group happened on Thursday January 22nd, when the teens put a 15-year-old male into a chokehold and demanded his money and phone. They then attacked three more teenagers over the next week, stealing at least one more phone. Then they moved onto adults, attacking a 39-year-old newsstand worker and stealing several items.
Most of the incident happened around West 93rd Street and Columbus area. Here is a breakdown of all the incidents from the NYPD:
1) Thursday, January 22, 2015, 1600 hours, the victim, a 15-year-old male, was walking in front of 67 West 107 Street when the suspects approached him from behind, put him in a choke hold and demanded his money and phone. The suspects then removed the victim's cell phone and fled.
2) Tuesday, January 27, 2015, 1425 hours, the victim, a 13-year-old male, was walking in front of 647 Columbus Avenue when the suspects approached him, punched the him in the face, and removed his phone and an undetermined amount of money.
3) Wednesday, February 4, 2015, 0715 hours, the victim, a 13-year-old male, was walking in the vicinity of West 93 Street and Columbus Avenue when the suspects approached him, grabbed his neck and demanded his cell phone. The victim struggled with the suspects who then fled empty
4) Friday, February 6, 2015, at 1530 hours, the victim, a 13-year-old male, was in front of 201 West 93 Street when the suspects approached him and asked him if he had anything in his pockets. The victim ignored the suspects who in turn punched him and then fled the location.
5) Saturday, February 7, 2015, 1850 hours, the victim, a 39-year-old male, was working at his newsstand at corner of Broadway and West 93 Street when of the suspects approached him and purchased a candy bar. The other suspects then began removing items from the shelves and leaving. When the victim told the suspects to put the items back, the suspects assaulted the victim and then fled the location. The victim refused medical attention on scene.
Police add the other suspects are still at large.
