HELL’S KITCHEN — A pair of attackers punched a carriage-horse driver to the ground, kicked him multiple times and stole his wallet and cellphone as he was ending his shift, the NYPD said
The 39-year-old victim had just returned his horse to the stable and was walking in front of 510 W. 52nd St. around 1:30 a.m. on May 17 when Olajuwon Starks, 19, and Quanisha Jackson, 22, punched him in the face from behind several times and knocked him to the ground, police and a complaint with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.
Once the driver was on the ground, the attackers kicked him several times — leaving him with a swollen lip and eye, bruises on his face and blurry vision — before taking his wallet and iPhone 5, police and the DA’s office said.
The wallet contained two $100 bills, a stack of $20 bills, and the driver’s ID cards and credit cards, the complaint said.
The attack took place on the same block as a stable, but it was not immediately clear if it was the stable where the driver kept his horse.
A surveillance video from the location showed Starks fleeing the scene in a GAP sweatshirt, the DA’s office said.
Soon after, an officer from the Midtown North Precinct spotted Starks wearing the same sweatshirt, the DA’s office said.
The man had “what appeared to be fresh blood on his shoe,” and another officer found a $100 bill and five $20 bills in his pocket, the complaint said.
Jackson told one of the officers she threw the driver’s ID and credit cards under a parked vehicle when she saw police coming, the DA’s office said.
Another Midtown North officer found three ID cards and two credit cards belonging to the driver under the car Jackson mentioned, the complaint said.
Starks and Jackson were each arrested and charged with two counts of robbery, the DA’s office said.
Both Starks and Jackson were released from custody on May 19 after paying bail and are expected to appear in court on July 19, city Department of Correction records show.
Attorneys for the two did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
