Press "Enter" to skip to content

Suspect arrested in fatal Canal St. subway mugging from July

BY THE VILLAGE SUN | Police have arrested the main suspect accused of fatally injuring a woman in the Canal St./Broadway train station this past summer — and have charged him with murder.

Cops said David Robinson, 53, was taken into custody Friday afternoon around 2 p.m. without incident in Central Park, where he was playing drums. He was taken to Chinatown’s Fifth Precinct where he was charged with murder and two counts of manslaughter.

A police spokesperson said the bust followed an anonymous tip made to the Crime Stoppers hot line.

According to police, the defendant tried to rob Kyaw Zaw Hein, 22, and the victim in the subway on July 17 around 9:40 a.m.

Hein and his mother, Than Than Htwe, 58, were climbing the stairs from the N train when the mugger allegedly grabbed Hein’s bookbag from behind, making him fall backward. As Hein lost his balance, he grabbed onto his mom, and she went falling down the stairs with him.

Htwe was left bleeding badly from her head, according to news reports. Critically injured, she underwent brain surgery at the hospital but never regained consciousness. Eleven days after the assault, she was taken off life support.

Htwe, who lived in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, had immigrated to New York from Myanmar to be with Hein, her only child, who was already living here, the Daily News reported.

Police publicly identified Robinson as the main suspect three days after the tragic incident. As for why it took four months to locate him, a police spokesperson on Saturday did not immediately provide more information.

However, in July, according to the News, police said Robinson was homeless at that time. He was currently living in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, according to police.

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Mission News Theme by Compete Themes.