CHELSEA — Police arrested a man late Thursday night who they believe attacked a pregnant woman at a Greenwich Village ATM, threatening to kill her unborn baby.
Melvin Johnson, 49, was previously arrested on March 19 for drinking a 24-ounce can of Four Loko a block away from the ATM, according to police records. An assistant district attorney asked a judge to hold Johnson on $20,000 bail, but the judge refused and let Johnson go, sources said.
A week and a half later, on March 30, Johnson menaced a pregnant woman at knifepoint at a Bank of America ATM on Sixth Avenue, threatening to cut her and kill her baby if she did not give him cash, police said.
Officers with the 6th Precinct know Johnson well, sources said. He is homeless, police said, and has a history of arrests in the neighborhood.
Police put out a request for assistance tracking Johnson down, and received a tip Thursday night, sources said, leading 6th Precinct officers to discover Johnson standing at the corner of West 21st Street and Ninth Avenue, in the neighboring 10th Precinct.
Information on an attorney for Johnson's latest charge was not immediately available.
