Police arrested a Bushwick teen in connection with a recent wheelchair purse snatching.
18-year-old Cody Santiago was sought by police one day after surveillance footage showed him snatching a purse off the lap of 78-year-old Catalina Mateo who is wheelchair-bound. According to the NYPD’s press office, Santiago lives a mere three blocks away from the scene of the crime at 238 Grove Street.
Paralyzed after suffering a stroke three years ago, Mateo told NY1, “I’m angry, I’m afraid, I’m nervous. I can’t do nothing. I need money. He took my little money.”
Santiago was arrested in January for “Sex Abuse” and in July for “Theft of Service”; police told BushwickBK the latter is either jumping a turnstile or “dine and dash.” He is being charged with Grand Larceny in the purse snatching. According to police the purse contained $15, a benefits card, and prescription medication.
The teen, who graduated from troubled Franklin K. Lane High School in 2010, posted on his Facebook wall that he was “So mad that Im getting more hot” just a day after he mugged the elderly woman on July 20th. As of yesterday, Santiago was active on Facebook posting that he “just had the best 13 hours of sleep” — with a friend replying that he should “get a job.”
Brandon August 4th, 2011 at 11:17 am
Wow, he’s an eloquent writer, too.
josh August 4th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Future Meth-Heads of America.
Savage Severe August 4th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
what a waste
Fred Dresser August 4th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
With those lovely, long, flowing, goldie-locks and spaghetti arms, he’ll be very popular at Riker’s.
Mary Judge August 4th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
i suppose he thought that would net big profits.
older wheelchair bound citizen=big bucks ??
Plazma August 4th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Take a good look at this kid…he’s a future drunk driver that will run over and kill one of our neighbors and drive off, someone who will stick you up in your building, steal your car, vandalize the neighborhood…he’ll drain lots of money from the system in terms what we’ll have to spend on him to keep us safe. All the while a deserving high school or college student will have their scholarship and or programs eliminated or cut because the city just can’t afford it.
WHAT A WASTE!
vertigo August 6th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Hate to be the devil’s advocate, but 15 bucks and some pills does not a grand larceny make. It’s petit larceny at best, but I’d say it’s robbery, which is a different one of the 7 major crimes (the ones that actually count toward a precinct’s crime numbers).
Strange, usually the cops go out of their way to ignore crimes like this so they don’t rack up the numbers, but i think taking from a lady in a wheelchair is such a dick move they’re willing to throw the book at him for it.
vertigo August 6th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
Actually, I’m wrong, it can’t be a robbery, it has to be petit larceny. Unless she can claim the bag is somehow worth $900, and the pills are worth $85. For it to be grand larceny, it has to be more than a thousand dollars.
I still think there deserves to be a category of crime for total douchebaggery.
JUNIOS DOS SANTOS August 16th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
what a nerd