Almost two months after an aspiring model was attacked at a New York City subway stop, a familiar face to the NYPD has been charged with the crime.
Kevin Douglas, 40, was charged with second-degree robbery, third-degree robbery, and second-degree assault, according to the New York Post.
Thursday’s arrest was nothing new, the Post reported, citing NYPD sources.
Over the past 25 years, Douglas has had 44 previous arrests on charges that include drugs, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, robbery and criminal tampering.
That rap sheet includes 16 arrests on May 13, 2019.
Kevin Douglas, 40, arrested for 11/22 subway station attack on Thai model.
Was already on Rikers for incident later that day; pushed open a woman’s door and punched her in the face.
Has 44 priors. Was arrested 16 times on one day alone.https://t.co/V900524ccx— Crime in NYC (@CrimeInNYC) February 13, 2022
Douglas had been held at Rikers Island after an incident that took place later on the day of the subway attack when a 34-year-old woman was punched in the face after Douglas allegedly pushed open her door.
The subway attack took place at 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 22, as Bew Jirajariyawetch, 23, was waiting for a train at the Herald Square stop.
Surveillance footage showed she was grabbed away from the tracks, thrown down, and punched repeatedly. Police said she was groped before her attacker ran off with her purse.
“Nothing can change what happened to me, but I am happy to know he can not do this to someone else,” said Jirajariyawetch, who said she came to New York City to begin a career in fashion and bolster her English.
Thai model who just moved to NYC recalls horror of random subway attack https://t.co/ZxY30MSVCF pic.twitter.com/wim1lcApJj
— New York Post (@nypost) December 17, 2021
Her lawyer, Eric Parnes, called the arrest “inspiring” for crime victims.
“Although this took an incredible amount of pressure and time to lead to an arrest, it does show that when the police and prosecutors are allowed to do their job without illogical restraints, people can have some sense of hope that things can be better,” Parnes said.
Douglas was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday and sent back to jail on bail of $75,000.
The arrest comes as crime continues to rise in the Big Apple, according to the Daily Mail.
New data shows that in the first weeks of the year: Robberies are up almost 35 percent, rapes are up more than 35 percent, shootings are up 30 percent and crime overall has hit a 41.65 percent increase.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
