By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — An accused mugger suspected of preying on Upper East Side women inside their apartment buildings is a registered sex offender in New York, prosecutors said.
Career criminal Tyrone Hunter, 55, was ordered held without bail after his arraignment on burglary and attempted robbery charges in Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday afternoon.
The convicted felon's criminal history dates back to 1972, when he was charged with rape in the first degree, according to the New York State Department of Correctional Services website. He was identified by prosecutors as a Level Three sex offender, a classification reserved for someone believed to be at high risk of repeating a sex crime.
Hunter followed women into buildings on East 83rd Street and East 89th Street on Nov. 24th and 25th, according to the charges. There he "placed his hand over their mouths and demanded money from them," the prosecutor said. In each of the attacks, Hunter allegedly ran away as soon as the victims screamed.
Police believe Hunter also recently attacked women entering walk-up buildings on East 78th Street, East 79th Street, and East 69th Street.
Although he was only charged with mugging two victims, he is suspected of mugging three others on the Upper East Side, Assistant District Attorney Shanda Strain said.
Hunter, who most recently lived in the Bronx, "spent most of his life in jail," the DA said.
His case will be presented to a grand jury on Friday.