NBC New York /

News

Winded Robbery Suspects Hail Cab, Get Cops Woman identifies alleged attackers from ambulance stretcher

Updated 7:02 AM EDT, Thu, Dec 4, 2008

Related Topics: Joanne Jaffe

2 Comments   Post a comment Post a Comment

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

file photo

 

Two cowardly hoodlums who beat and robbed a 70-year-old woman were arrested after they mistook an undercover police car for a livery cab and tried to hail it to flee the scene, authorities said Wednesday.

The woman, whose name was not released, was visiting relatives in the Bronx Tuesday afternoon when two men got on an elevator with her, police said.

When she got out, the attackers pushed her down, beat her and kicked her, leaving her groceries strewn all over the floor. A resident heard her screams and called 911, and the suspects fled with her wallet.

The two men ran about a block, then noticed a light blue car and thought it was a livery cab, so they stopped, breathless on the street, and tried to hail it, police said. Instead, plainclothes officers responding to the scene got out of the car and asked for identification. One of the suspects accidentally pulled out the woman's wallet and ID and then said he had just found it on the street, according to Joanne Jaffe, chief of the NYPD's Housing Bureau.

The two suspects, both 21, were arrested as the woman was brought out on a stretcher. The ambulance stopped near the car, and the woman identified the suspects, Jaffe said.

The woman was admitted to North Central Bronx Hospital with a dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs and a head injury. She was in intensive care, Jaffe said.

Michael Jordan and Antoine Mitchell were arrested on charges of assault and robbery. There was no telephone listing for Mitchell, and a number for Jordan went unanswered Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear if the men had lawyers.

Comments (2)

Sort by: Most Recent | Oldest
  • Lost & Crazy... Thursday, Dec 4 at 5:01 PM FLAG COMMENT This is the time of year when folks have to be very, very careful of any activities we take for granted ie: something as simple as going to the market, waiting for a bus or even getting into an elevator. These young guys of today don't have any respect for their own parents let alone an elderly person on the street. These people are so misguided, it's only going to get worse! Wake-up people...
  • Anonymous Thursday, Dec 4 at 4:00 PM FLAG COMMENT Scum

Post a Comment

Name


Comment - You have 2000 characters left

Enter both words below, separated by a space, in the field located to the lower right. Can't read the words below? Try different words or an audio captcha. What's this?