Suspect arrested in Hell's Kitchen punch

HELL'S KITCHEN (WABC) -- The man wanted for punching a Midtown man in a dispute over his dog was taken into custody at the Lincoln Tunnel Wednesday night after initially agreeing to surrender to detectives.

Corey Pohan, 32, was held overnight in New Jersey, where he will appear in court Thursday. Detectives obtained an arrest for Pohan and tracked him to his mother's home in Lakewood, N.J. He agreed to voluntarily come back to New York to talk to detectives, but once they reached the Lincoln Tunnel, Pohan changed his mind.

(Corey Pohan's mugshot)

Since Pohan had voluntarily agreed to cross state lines, the officers pulled over prior to entering the tunnel to talk to him further, but he got out of the car and walked towards the toll plaza stairwell.

NYPD notified New Jersey State Police, who responded and quickly took him into custody. He is being held as a fugitive from New York, and will be charged locally for walking along a limited access highway and climbing up the toll plaza.

The punching incident happened at the corner of West 55th Street and Ninth Avenue around 6:30 p.m. and landed the victim in the hospital.

The video, taken by a witness on their cellphone, shows the 49-year old victim falling to the ground after the punch and hitting his head on the pavement. The suspect fled on foot.

The confrontation stemmed from an argument over the victim's dog, a white chihuahua named Peanut. Neighbors say it is the dog on the corner in the background of the cellphone video.

"We always pay attention to all the dogs in the neighborhood because we're always walking up and down the street. In fact I was outside at 6 p.m. yesterday so I'm kind of shocked that this happened and I didn't see anything," said Hell's Kitchen resident Sam Morris.

Authorities say the victim was walking with a male friend and Peanut when he crossed paths with the suspect, who stepped over the dog to go to the sidewalk.

The dog owner asked the suspect why he stepped over the dog, and then pushed or shoved him when he tried to walk away. The suspect responded to the shove by punching the victim with his closed right fist.

The victim sustained swelling on the brain, a contusion and a skull fracture when his head hit the pavement. He is in stable condition at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.

The two men were apparently strangers before the altercation. But the suspect wasn't a stranger to some in Columbus Circle.

"He's here just about every day," said Chris Wogus, "Bike and Roll" stand operator.

Wogus runs the "Bike and Roll" stand in Columbus Circle. He rents bikes to tourists in Central Park. Things got so heated between that suspect and one of his employees one recent afternoon, that they even took pictures of him in what looks like the same T-shirt, to provide to the police. It started when the man got too close to one of his employees.

Anyone with information in regards to this assault is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).