Subway Crime Spikes by 90%, as Victims are Pickpocketed and Punched

By Yehudit Garmaise

Thefts in the subways have skyrocketed nearly 90% so far this year, said NYPD officers, who continue to bemoan that judges continue to release criminals back to the streets.  

Yesterday, cops announced on Twitter that they busted serial pickpocket Dedrick Williams, 53, on Monday for committing three more grand larcenies in the subways, after he was arrested for 11 Grand Larcenies within one year, the New York Post reported.

But even after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office recommended setting bail at $30,000 cash for Williams, the judge freed the perpetrator to return to the streets without bail. 

“Caught & arrested again!” the NYPD tweeted with frustration that their efforts are stymied by a bail reform system that does not hold criminals accountable. “Our officers will remain resilient in addressing subway crimes, and our commitment is unwavering.” 

Pickpockets, unfortunately, are not the worst crimes happening now on the rails.

On Monday at 8:45 am, a 41-year-old woman was sitting and chatting on her phone on a Q train headed to Manhattan, when the woman sitting next to her started to viciously punch her again and again.

When the woman asked her attacker, “Why did you hit me?” the perpetrator, who was an African-American woman in her 20s, responded angrily, “I hate Mexicans!”

“Now I’m scared to go out anywhere. I’m so mad and scared,” the victim expressed.

While the woman’s attack was on the front pages today, on July 26, a story the mainstream media did not cover was when Fima Zlatsin, an Orthodox Jew, was punched on the subway by a 22-year-old African-American man.

The perpetrator, who was dancing on the subway with friends, first landed on Zlatsin’s foot before accusing him of filming the performance.

"If I had a gun I would shoot you,” the attacker reportedly said as he exited the car.

"I know that they're trying their hardest," Zlatsin said of the efforts of the NYPD, but then he added, "I personally feel as a Jew that I don't feel safe taking the subway."