Police Arrest 4 Men In Connection To Attacks On Jewish Men In Williamsburg
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Police say four men were have now been arrested in connection to a series of attempted robberies in Williamsburg earlier this week.
The NYPD say 19-year-old Deandre Diagle and 20-year-old Michael Bellevue, both of Brooklyn, were taken into custody just before midnight on Wednesday and are each facing four counts of robbery and four counts of assault charges.
Hours later, police arrested 18-year-old Elijah Hodge and 17-year-old Devante McDougell on the same charges.
Investigators say the suspects attacked and then tried robbing three Jewish men Monday morning, all within a 40-minute span.
MORE: NYPD Hate Crimes Unit Investigating After 3 Hasidic Jews Attacked Within An Hour
Three Jewish men, ages 56 to 71, were punched in the face between 5 and 6 a.m. Monday. Two of the victims had to be taken to the hospital.
The suspects also allegedly rummaged through their pockets, but nothing was stolen.
The first victim was attacked on Ross Street, the second on Clymer Street and then the third on Wythe Place – all within a half-mile radius.
The hate crimes unit is on the case, and police say the case is ongoing. On Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo instructed the New York State Police Hate Crimes task force to join the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682), logging onto the Crime stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enterings TIP577.
