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Robber Hits Victim With Metal Pipe After Stealing His Cash, NYPD Says

By Maya Rajamani | April 27, 2016 4:36pm
 A metal pipe-wielding robber hit a Hell’s Kitchen resident in the head with the weapon and took a pouch filled with his money, police said.
A metal pipe-wielding robber hit a Hell’s Kitchen resident in the head with the weapon and took a pouch filled with his money, police said.
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DNAinfo

HELL’S KITCHEN — A robber with a pocketful of heroin hit a resident in the head with a metal pipe several times after stealing hundreds of dollars in cash from him, police said.

The 63-year-old victim was inside his apartment on West 48th Street, between Ninth and 10th avenues, around 12:23 p.m. on April 12 when Eduardo Espaillat, 28, knocked on the door, according to police and a complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.

After the resident’s cousin opened the door, Espaillat pushed past the cousin holding what the victim thought was a black handgun, the complaint said. Once inside, the mugger told the victim, “Give me the money or I’ll kill you,” the DA’s office said.

The tenant handed Espaillat a pouch filled with cash, but Espaillat nonetheless struck the man in the head “several times” with the pipe, causing cuts to his head and ear, the complaint said.

The victim had to get stitches as a result, the DA’s office said.

Espaillat later admitted the robbery to a Midtown North Precinct detective, the complaint said.

Additionally, during a search of the attacker's apartment, a police officer found a box filled with rounds of semi-automatic pistol ammunition, according to the complaint.

Espaillat told the detective he bought the ammo in The Bronx, with plans to sell it in Manhattan.

The officer who searched his home also found a bag of heroin on the floor of the police vehicle Espaillat rode in after his arrest, the DA’s office said.

The officer also found two heroin bags in the defendant’s right front pocket, the complaint said.

A police report said Espaillat took $1,156 in cash from the resident that officers recovered from the robber’s home.

Espaillat was arrested and charged with two counts of burglary, one count of robbery, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon, the DA’s office said.

He is currently being held on $50,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on May 19, city Department of Correction records show.

An attorney for Espaillat did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.