Post by Scumhunter on Apr 18, 2016 8:37:34 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: NY Daily News)
From The New York Daily News website:
An ex-con sought in connection with a gruesome Manhattan homeless shelter murder and for allegedly slashing a cabbie in the neck is also wanted for robbing another taxi driver at knifepoint.
William Smith, 53, allegedly threatened a cab driver with a blade and lifted $225 from him after a ride from Brooklyn to Queens on April 11.
The serial slasher got out of the cab around 2 p.m. on 91st Ave. near Sutphin Blvd. in Jamaica and told the driver he would come back — but when he returned, he brandished a knife and stole what cash the driver had on him, sources said.
Smith is still on the loose after he went on a crime spree that began when cops believe he slit a homeless man’s throat on Friday at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter in Kips Bay.
A security guard found the victim, 55-year-old Marcus Guerreiro, in a blood-soaked bed on the third floor of the shelter with a thin wire wrapped around his neck and a deep gash to his throat.
The Brazilian-born victim, who had been staying at the shelter since May 28, was heard screaming by neighbors.
Shelter residents saw Smith washing blood from his hands in the bathroom.
Smith is also wanted for nearly killing a livery cab driver after he slashed his neck in Queens on Saturday.
Manuel Vera, 43, had picked the knife-wielding suspect up on Roosevelt Ave. near 103rd St. around 12:30 a.m. Saturday and dropped him off at a Holiday Inn in Corona, cops said.
When Vera asked for the $10 fare, Smith put a blade to his throat and slashed the side of his neck, just inches from his jugular vein, source said.
“It’s really scary . . . he could have killed me,” the shaken driver told the Daily News.
“This guy was crazy,” Vera said. “He was slicing all over the place.”
Smith initially ran off with Vera’s money but suddenly came back to the cab when the driver attempted to call 911 on his cell phone.
“He came back, but I locked the door,” Vera said. “That saved my life.”
Smith left his wallet and a cell phone during the struggle with the cab driver.
Police identified him through an ID in the wallet.
He was being sought Sunday night amid a massive manhunt that included using NYPD dogs who tried to pick up the slasher’s scent.
Smith, who was free on parole, served four prison terms since 1991 for attempted robbery, possession of a forged instrument and, most recently, a 2014 burglary conviction, public records show.
The NYPD has been grappling with a 24% spike in slashings and stabbings citywide so far this year, with 1,158 knife attacks through last Sunday, compared with 933 during the same period last year.
Cops are asking anyone with information about Smith’s whereabouts to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/murder-suspected-wanted-robbing-queens-cabbie-article-1.2604904
Thoughts?
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