Video: Man sucker-punched in Bronx street; Passersby raid his pockets
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Bronx (WABC) -- Police have made an arrest in a violent attack that left a father of three unconscious in the middle of a Bronx crosswalk. After the attack, people started stealing from the victim's pockets, police said.
The suspect, 22-year-old Luis Rivera of the Bronx, is charged with assault.
Two suspects approached 37-year-old Fernando Levano at the corner of Aqueduct Avenue and Buchanan Place in the University Heights section around 6 a.m.on June 18.
Police said one suspect punched Levano in the head, knocking him to the ground and leaving him unconscious in the middle of the intersection.
Moments later, three other individuals started going through the unconscious victim's pockets, removing his phone and identification, police said.
The suspects who assaulted the victim then returned to the crosswalk to take pictures of him.
A custodian at nearby PS 91 called 911.
Levano suffered a fractured skull. He remains at St. Barnabus hospital in critical but stable condition. He works at a company that manufactures hospital supplies.
The victim's relatives expressed their anger over the incident.
"It's not OK, that's not cool, he's just laying down on the floor, you could at least let him keep his things but they robbed him and that's not cool, man," said his brother Caesar Zuniga.
"It's a rough neighborhood, but at the end of the day, you don't do that to anybody walking down the street because it's not fair," said John Lopez, area resident.
"I lived in this neighborhood for over 40 years and it's really shocking to hear something like that," said Marilyn Peguero, area resident.
The suspect who punched the victim was described as a Hispanic man, approximately in his 20s, with a medium complexion, medium build, black hair and a black trimmed beard. He has tattoos on both of his forearms. He was last seen wearing a yellow baseball hat with a triangle shaped logo, a white t-shirt, denim shorts and black sneakers with yellow trim.
The second suspect was described as a Hispanic man, approximately in his 20s, with a light complexion, a slim build, black hair and a black beard. He has a tattoo on his right forearm. He was last seen wearing a light blue Yankees baseball hat, a light blue t-shirt and a yellow t-shirt, a black belt around his torso, camouflage cargo pants and black boots.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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