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Alleged Stuyvesant Town Robber Held on $75K Bail

By DNAinfo Staff on November 29, 2011 5:16pm

By Ben Fractenberg and Mary Johnson

DNAinfo staff

MANHATTAN — Henry Huggins, the man who allegedly robbed and attacked two elderly men in Stuyvesant Town this month, was arraigned Monday night in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Huggins was charged with two attacks within Stuyvesant Town. The first took place on Nov. 3 at 274 First Ave., when Huggins allegedly robbed a 77-year-old man. The second incident, on Nov. 23 at 446 E. 20th St., left a 71-year-old man with a broken arm.

His bail was set at $75,000, or a $100,000 bond. As of Tuesday afternoon, Huggins had not made bail and was still being held at the Manhattan Detention Complex, according to the New York City Department of Correction website.

Court documents list Huggins' residence as the men's homeless shelter on East 30th Street in Kips Bay. He was arrested on Monday and is being charged with robbery, burglary and grand larceny.

A few days after the attacks, police executed a search warrant on Huggins’ locker inside the Bellevue men’s shelter and found “a red ski cap, dark colored sneakers with white shoelaces, a blue hooded waist length coat and blue jeans”—clothing that resembled what was worn by the attacker in surveillance video of the Nov. 23 assault.

The Daily News identified the victim of that attack as William Shafer. In an interview, Shafer told the News that he was concerned about the prospect of Huggins getting released on bail.

"I want to see him off the streets," Shafer said. “He knows who I am. This guy is violent.”

As news of the attack circulated around Stuyvesant Town, residents have voiced concerns about the safety of the neighborhood.

"It's a little upsetting when it happens in your own building," said Joe H., 76, who has lived in Stuy Town for 30 years and declined to give his last name. "[The attacker] knew he was on camera. A lot of [muggers] are that brazen.”

Isha Schukla, 23, who lives at 274 First Ave., said she was surprised the first robbery happened around 5 p.m..

"It's really crazy," Schukla said. "It seems like a time people are coming home."

Rose Associates, the property manager for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, defended the safety measures already in place around the property and said no changes or upgrades are being considered.

"The property has a highly trained and large security force that, along with more than 1,400 cameras, provides protection for the residents and visitors," the management company said in a statement. "The camera images, by the way, are largely responsible for the rapid solving of this recent crime. A suspect is under arrest."

Huggins is due back in court on Friday, Dec. 2.