NEW YORK – A New York City man allegedly stole at least five cars Sunday, all of them taxis, and police say he has been doing the same for nearly 40 years.
A police body camera released by the New York Police Department showed an officer running after 62-year-old Robert Williams on Sunday after witnesses identified him as a suspect who was breaking into vehicles along Elderts. Lane in eastern New York. A cell phone video recorded by a witness also allegedly shows Williams getting out of a car he broke into that morning.
The taxi driver, Mohammad Hossain, told our sister station NBC that he was one of the victims of Williams’ alleged robbery spree.
“My wallet also has my green card, social security, work permit, and my four credit cards, two debit cards, driver’s license … I actually lost everything,” Hossain said, counting all his missing items. Now he is forced to stop working just before the holidays.
“I can’t drive, I can’t work… now I feel so bad, you know, this is a bad time for me. Because it’s Christmas time, Thanksgiving,” he added.
With more than 70 previous arrests for similar crimes, investigators say Williams used a rusty screwdriver and pliers to remove weather stripping from car windows to remove anything valuable.
“It has been a threat to poor and working people who go out just to put food on their tables,” said Fernando Mateo, founder of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.
Police say Williams already had an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court for another alleged crime spree that took place earlier this year. Information from Williams’ representative was not immediately available.
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