A man believed to have beaten and robbed an 86-year-old woman last month in East Harlem. A tipster called police to say that Arnel Munoz was the suspect they were seeking and victim Margarita Fuentes positively ID'd him.
Police released surveillance video of the June 5 daylight attack on East 121st Street, which showed Fuentes being pulled by the neck, dragged, and then tossed to the ground. She also tried to defend herself with her cane and told WABC 7, "And this time, he put his arm around me, and I started to scream and to fight him, and that's when he yanked the chain and pushed me to the ground." Fuentes also explained to the Daily News that the man initially asked her if he recognized, to which she said no, "He grabbed me by the chain and ripped off the Christ," and after she was thrown to the ground, "I had to crawl like a baby just to eventually get back up." Then, her mugger tried to help her back up!
Munoz, a ex-con with "a slew of priors for drug possession and burglary," faces charges of second-degree robbery and grand larceny.
