Fareed Hosein, 19, and Joel Nieves, 18, both from Manhattan, and an…
By Matthew Monks
Police ended a suspected subway terror spree Saturday when they charged three teens with robbery on the No. 7 train station in Long Island City, the Queens district attorney said.
Fareed Hosein, 19, and Joel Nieves, 18, both from Manhattan, and an unidentified 14-year-old boy, were arrested and charged about 2:20 a.m. with robbing three credit cards, two IPods, and a watch from a man who police said was their 10th victim in two weeks, according to law enforcement officials.
The three youths have been charged with robbery, assault, and criminal possession of stolen property. They were arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Monday, where Judge Alex Zigman set bail at $10,000, a law enforcement official said.
They are charged with robbing 10 people in Queens and Manhattan since April 3. All the robberies occurred between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. on the No. 7 and No. 1 trains, police said. Half of them were on April 11, when the youths allegedly mugged five people between 3:55 and 11:45 a.m., police said.
The last two robberies were on April 17 in Flushing and Long Island City, police said.
According to the criminal complaint, the three youths and one other unapprehended suspect beat and robbed a man at 1 a.m. on the southbound No. 7 train at the Willets Point subway stop.
Before taking $20 out of the man’s pocket, one of the teens grabbed his glasses off his face and broke them. They kicked and punched him in the face, causing him pain and swelling, the complaint said.
Nieves and Hosein later admitted to police they participated in the assault, the complaint said.
The second robbery on April 17 was just over an hour later near the 33rd Street station. The man surrendered his IPod and credit cards, after four teens allegedly walked up to him man and threatened him, according to the complaint.
Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
