LOWER EAST SIDE — Police arrested a man they believe was part of a group that choked, slashed, kicked and robbed at least four people in separate early morning attacks that left some of the victims with broken bones and stitches.
Travis Taylor, 17, along with two other men, punched a man in the face, fracturing his jaw, then took the man's wallet, cellphone and two credit cards about 2 a.m. June 15 in front of 67 Ave. B, according to the criminal complaint.
The next day, he and two other men broke a 41-year-old man's facial bones after they punched him in front of 210 Stanton St. at about 2 a.m., police and court documents said. Taylor and the other men ran off after they spotted security cameras, Det. Jose Toala said.
Just five minutes later, they robbed and assaulted Juan Pichardo, 35, in front of 97 Pitt St., stealing his iPod, cellphone and about $60 in cash, police and Pichardo told DNAinfo.
Pichardo was walking to meet up with his cousin and texting him on his phone when a young man tried to grab it out of his hand, he said.
Another man then came up and attacked him, he said.
“His friend punched me in my face. He cut me,” Pichardo said. “That’s when all of them started jumping on me.”
The father of two fell backwards, hitting his head on a van. The group of men then held him down while they went through his pockets and took his iPod and money, according to Pichardo.
“I was just thinking about my children. I wasn’t thinking about my stuff,” said Pichardo, who has a 9-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son.
He then walked to the 7th Precinct, where a group of women in the lobby told him he was bleeding from his cheek.
Pichardo was taken to Bellevue Hospital and given 15 stitches, he said.
Taylor was also charged with a fourth robbery when he choked a man then stole his Bose headphones while two other men punched the victim in the head, according to court documents. Authorities had no information on the time and place of that attack.
Taylor, who lives on East 6th Street, was charged with several counts of felony robbery and attempted robbery.
The 17-year-old was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday evening and is being held on $20,000 bail.
