Purse-snatching bully punches woman, 68, in face and down NYC church stairs — then takes her car as she lies in agony

[The Bobster]

Purse-snatching bully punches woman, 68, in face and down NYC church stairs — then takes her car as she lies in agony

The 68-year-old victim was approaching the entrance of the Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on 152nd Street in Briarwood around 8:20 a.m. when the much-younger attacker trailed behind her, acc…

nypost.com

Purse-snatching bully punches woman, 68, in face and down NYC church stairs — then takes her car as she lies in agony​

By
Social Links for Amanda Woods



Published April 8, 2024, 4:56 p.m. ET








A mugger brutally punched a 68-year-old parishioner down the steps of her Queens church early Sunday – then snatched her purse and rode off in her car as she lied on the ground in pain, according to authorities and video of the disturbing crime.


The victim was approaching the entrance of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on 152nd Street in Briarwood around 8:20 a.m. when the much-younger attacker struck, according to cops and the church’s pastor, Father Konstantinos Kalogridis.


Video of the vicious attack, which The Post obtained from the church Monday, shows the suspect stalking the woman as she walks up to the church.


4
The attacker slugged the 68-year-old woman in the face on the steps of the Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, cops said. NYPD
He then suddenly gets in front of her and punts her down the steps as he stands on the top landing.




As she lies on the ground, he callously picks her pockets and steals her purse before bolting with her purse and driving away in her car, a 2006 Nissan Altima.

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“She’s a parishioner of our church who was coming to church to attend the service in the morning,” Kalogridis told The Post in a phone interview. “I was in the office during the service but when I saw the footage of what happened, it was horrible.”


“I can’t believe — right on the top of the steps of the church — to do this to an elderly woman,” Kalogridis told The Post in a phone interview. “I hope they find this guy and they go to jail.”


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The brute stole the woman’s purse holding $300, a cell phone, a credit card and car keys, authorities said. NYPD
The victim was initially hospitalized in critical condition, but Kalogridis said he had since visited her and her condition had stabilized.


“She’s a regular parishioner,” the pastor said. “She has a wonderful family… and she has her faith in the Lord and she’s a humble person that would give her very best to her family and her community.”


“I gave her a blessing and gave her communion and I prayed for her, and we’re hoping she’ll come out strong and have a full recovery,” he added. “And even [when] the nurses saw me visit her, they would say, ‘Oh, she’s so sweet! So nice!'”


The woman’s stolen purse held $300, a cellphone, a credit card, and — conveniently for the suspect — her car keys, authorities said.


Police released a video Monday of the suspect, believed to be between 18 and 25 years old, running off with the senior’s bag.


4
Finally, the thief took off in her assailant’s car, a 2006 Nissan Altima, cops said. NYPD
A still photo shows him with his arms outstretched while standing at the top of the church steps, apparently just after knocking the parishioner down.


“[Parishioners] were shocked because we don’t have incidents like that here in this area of the neighborhood,” Kalogridis said. “There was fear, they were angry and sad for the woman as she went through this.”


The pastor said the NYPD’s local 107th Precinct has opted to increase its presence around the church as they search for the attacker – especially during the ongoing season of Orthodox Lent.


“They’re going to be sending patrols here just to keep an eye on the area, so we have the support of the police 100% on this,” he said.


4
The victim is a “regular parishioner” and “humble person” with a wonderful family, her pastor said. Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
The NYPD has described the attacker as a man with a dark complexion, between 18 and 25 years old, standing around 5-foot-8 with a medium build.


He was last seen wearing a red hoodie underneath a black jacket, black pants, black face mask and black Jordans with red trim.





Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).


The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

16-year-old mugger busted for punching Queens grandmother down church steps had 9 prior arrests

The teen was taken into custody late Thursday and charged with robbery, assault, and other charges for the Sunday morning mugging that sent a 68-year-old woman to the hospital with a fractured skul…

www.nydailynews.com

16-year-old mugger busted for punching Queens grandmother down church steps had 9 prior arrests​

By Rocco Parascandola | rparascandola@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News and Thomas Tracy | ttracy@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
PUBLISHED: April 12, 2024 at 11:57 a.m. | UPDATED: April 12, 2024 at 9:01 p.m.

A 16-year-old boy busted for punching a beloved Queens grandmother down the steps of a church had a long arrest record that included more than a half-dozen robbery attempts, the Daily News has learned.

The teen, whose name was not publicly disclosed because of his age, was arrested late Thursday and charged with robbery, assault, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property for the Sunday morning mugging of a 68-year-old woman.

Sources said the teenager attempted to commit suicide while in custody despite close supervision before an officer intervened. He was brought to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, a police source said Friday. His arraignment in Queens Criminal Court was pending.

Police said the teen has been arrested nine times as an adolescent offender. Eight of those arrests involved robberies — including an episode just days before the church attack.

“Absolutely shocking that this heinous crime was committed by a 16 year old!” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said on X. “A teenager who has had multiple felony arrests, robberies of women and yet he is walking around the streets. Obviously he needs help! This was avoidable!”

Victim Irene Tahliambouris remains in the ICU with a fractured skull but is showing signs of improvement, said relatives. She was hurt so badly that she didn’t recognize her own relatives for days as she recovered at the hospital, they said.

“Criminals feel comfortable doing things to helpless people because the laws in our state do not hold them accountable,” Daniel Coffaro Hill, 19, whose brother and Tahliambouris’ niece share a child, wrote on X late Thursday.

GoFundMe.com
Victim Irene Tahliambouris suffered a fractured skull. (GoFundMe.com)
The culprit walked behind Tahliambouris as she headed up the steps to St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Briarwood around 8:20 a.m., cops said.

Video shows him creeping up behind the grandmother and quickly climbing the steps next to her.

He then got in front of Tahliambouris and punched her in the face, sending her tumbling backwards down the stairs on 152nd St. near 84th Drive before running off with her purse, which contained $300, her cell phone and credit cards.

Despite being seriously injured, Tahiambouris managed to get up and wander over to her 2006 Nissan Altima, police sources said. The teen saw which car she was heading to, then ran over with her keys and sped off in her vehicle, the sources said.

The car was recovered about three miles away, cops said.

“Everyone is shocked that this happened here, on the church steps,” Father Konstantinos Kalogridis, head priest of the church, said Monday.

The teen was also charged with stealing a car from another woman three days before he attacked Tahliambouris, Queens prosecutors said.

On April 4, the woman, who did not want to be named, told the Daily News a young man followed her into her building after watching her leave a bank and cornered her. He said he had a knife and would “poke her,” demanding her money, phone, and car key.

The woman gave the teen the key to her car before brushing past him and screaming for help, she said. The teen fled and was seen on surveillance video getting into the victim’s rented Toyota Corolla and driving away, prosecutors said.

“I was hoping and praying that he’d be caught and I was hoping and praying no one would get hurt,” she said.

The teen was also arrested last September on robbery charges, according to a police source.

Tahliambouris’ loved ones were happy that the teen was in custody, but were stunned that he had already racked up so many arrests at such a young age.

“We are seeing an increase in petty crimes that are no longer prosecutable, and those people are going on to commit violent crimes, yet Albany and NYC refuse to make the necessary changes to the law to ensure these criminals are held accountable,” Hill said.

Hill said he and his relatives, who are seeking donations on GoFundMe to help with Tahiambouris’ medical bills, hope detectives and the Queens DA “will take all necessary actions to bring the perpetrator to justice and uphold the safety of our community.”

Chell agreed.

“Irene represents all of our moms, grandmothers, and everything else,” he wrote. “NYC and the NYPD family has you now. Keep fighting Irene, we are all praying for your speedy recovery. We are all citizens of this great city who want our friends , neighbors and family to be safe.”