Crime Watch

Compiled by Rebecca Harris Senseless Violence In a seemingly random and purposeless act of violence, a man was assaulted from behind early Wednesday morning while walking on the sidewalk along East 63rd Street, near the intersection at 3rd Avenue. The victim told police that an unknown perpetrator, described as a black male approximately 5-foot-11, wearing a baseball cap, approached him from the back and struck him repeatedly with his hands. The 54-year-old victim suffered small lacerations to the back of the right side of his neck, left wrist and the left side of his back. He walked to the hospital following the assault, where an examining nurse called the police on his behalf. The attacker has not been identified. Road Rage A nasty case of road rage resulted in damage to a taxi cab and a few minor injuries to its driver in an incident that occurred Friday evening near the corner of East 63rd Street and Madison Avenue. After a dispute occurred between the driver and the perpetrator, the offending driver picked up a crowbar and smashed in the window of the victim's taxi. A second victim, a 43-year-old male passenger in the cab, suffered lacerations to his left arm from flying glass. The perpetrator also grabbed the passenger's cell phone and threw it to the ground, damaging it. Two eyewitnesses gave statements to the police regarding the incident. Police are looking for an unknown Hispanic male, approximately 45 years old, 6-foot-2 and about 250 pounds. He was wearing blue shorts and a white shirt, driving a yellow Ford Crown Victoria four-door sedan with the license plate number 3L53B. So Un-Fare Police responded to a report by a taxi driver on East 86th Street on Thursday evening who reported that he had been stiffed by a passenger who refused to pay the fare for his cab ride. The driver told police that the pair argued over where the perpetrator was meant to be dropped off, prompting the passenger to depart the cab without paying the approximately $6 charge. The perpetrator then reportedly told the 48-year-old taxi driver: "I'm refusing to pay and I'm calling 311 to make a complaint!" The victim described the passenger, who is accused of theft of services, as a white man with gray hair who wore jeans, a blue shirt and white sneakers. Rape Conviction A 61-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 5 years post-release supervision for raping a young woman in January 2010. On June 7, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., announced the sentencing of Mustapha Ouanes, who was convicted by a jury in February 2012 for sexually assaulting the victim in his room at the Plaza Hotel in Midtown. "The defendant sexually assaulted a young woman who was in a helpless and vulnerable state, and today's sentence reflects the seriousness of that misconduct," Vance said. "I thank the victim for her bravery in coming forward." Ouanes was found guilty of one count each of rape in the first degree, criminal sexual act in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, assault in the second degree and attempted sexual abuse, all of which are felony charges.