Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Ex-Con Punches E Train Conductor After Asking For Directions, Police Say

By Maya Rajamani | April 25, 2017 4:36pm
 The E train.
The E train.
View Full Caption
DNA/Stephanie Keith

FINANCIAL DISTRICT — An ex-con punched an E train conductor in the face after asking him for directions, police said.

Darren Scruggs, 47, was aboard a southbound E train around 12:15 a.m. on April 22 when he asked the 47-year-old train conductor, “How do I get to Jay Street?” the NYPD and a complaint filed with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.

When the train pulled into the Chambers Street station, Scruggs hit the conductor in the face, leaving it swollen and numb, police and the DA’s office said.

The conductor also injured his right arm while holding Scruggs's left arm to keep him from attacking again, the NYPD said.

The suspect fled the station, but was soon spotted by an officer in an NYPD cruiser responding to a radio call about the incident, police said.

Scruggs tried to run away after he saw the police car, but the officer managed to stop him, the NYPD said.

The puncher admitted to the officer he’d been involved in an altercation, and the train conductor later identified Scruggs in a police lineup, officials said.

He was charged with assault and released on $7,500 bail, and is expected to next appear in court on Thursday, according to the DA’s office and city Department of Correction records.

In 1999, Scruggs went to prison after being convicted of attempted robbery, state Department of Correction records show. He was released on parole in 2006.

His attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Other recent crimes in the 1st Precinct include:

► A 30-year-old man was arrested after he tried to leave the Saks Fifth Avenue in Brookfield Place at 250 Vesey St. with a $1,275 pair of pants he hadn’t paid for around 7:08 p.m. on April 20, police said. A spokeswoman for the department store didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

► A 36-year-old man checked his $6,000 Saint Laurent leather jacket, a hooded sweater and $350 Saint Laurent glasses into the coat room at Paul’s Casablanca nightclub at 305 Spring St. around 1 a.m. on April 22, only to discover his belongings were missing when he went to leave, the NYPD said. The club’s manager couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.

► A man of an unknown age who chained his electric bike to scaffolding in front of 1 New York Plaza around 9 a.m. on April 17 discovered it was no longer there around 5 p.m. that day, police said. No one had been arrested in connection with the incident as of Tuesday.