New York City police have arrested and charged a suspect with murder in connection to a vicious and deadly attack in a Downtown Brooklyn subway station.
Late Wednesday afternoon, authorities named the suspect as 25-year-old David Mazariegos. He has been charged with two counts of murder, robbery and grand larceny.
Police say he punched, kicked and stomped on his victim, 64-year-old Nicola Tanzi, and even allegedly admitted to detectives he did it because he didn’t like the way the victim looked at him.
Authorities say Mazariegos has 17 prior arrests, including for assault earlier this year, petit larceny and graffiti.
He was arrested at around 10 p.m. Tuesday when NYPD officers assigned to the subway in Times Square spotted him sitting on the sidewalk. Police say he had a katana sword, with a blade length of more than 20 inches, resting in his lap at the time of this arrest.
Police say he was also in possession of four of the Brooklyn subway attack victim’s credit cards, including one the suspect had allegedly just used to make a purchase at Target at 237 W. 42nd Street on Tuesday night.
The suspect was released on those charges, which include petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, and then immediately taken back into custody in connection to the subway murder in Brooklyn. He is expected to be arraigned in that case on Thursday.
Detectives are also looking at similarities between Tuesday’s murder and the death of a worker who confronted a shoplifter in at a Morton Williams in Hell’s Kitchen last month.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised the department’s domain awareness system, which sent photos of the suspect to officers’ phones, resulting in the suspect’s quick arrest.
Meanwhile, investigators released new details on what led to the deadly attack.
Police say the suspect was pulling on the exit gate at the Jay Street-MetroTech station, attempting to gain entry around 3 p.m. Tuesday when Tanzi approached.
The two exchanged words, and the suspect sucker punched the 64-year-old, knocking him to the ground.
According to investigators, video from MTA security cameras recorded the suspect then punching, kicking, and stomping the victim’s head 15 times while he was on the ground.
Police say the suspect was then seen boarding a Bronx-bound No. 2 train.
The victim suffered a fractured skull and was taken to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in critical condition, and was later pronounced dead.
Candles burned at the scene of the crime on Wednesday in memory of the Tanzi, who was remembered by others as a nice guy.
Those who knew the victim, believed to be a security guard, said they were thinking of his family.
It was the fourth homicide in the subway system this year, down from eight at this time last year.
Transit crime is down 4.3% so far this year. In September, serious crime was down 31% compared to the same month last year.
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