A delivery man from National Restaurant at 129 Westchester Square went home to get the charger for his cell phone, but got more than he bargained for when two thugs, one of whom was a Lehman High School truant, allegedly attacked him in a robbery attempt.
While one of the suspects got away and is awaiting apprehension, the other, a young man who attacked the deliveryman, Jonathan Singh, was held until police arrived by the brother-in-law of the victim. The attack occurred on Friday, January 9 on Tratman Avenue.
According to sources, Lehman High School confirmed that the suspect apprehended was one of their students, but one who is often missing from class.
“They beat the young man up and stole about $300 from him,” said Joe Regina, secretary for the Association of Professionals and Merchants of Westchester Square. “From what I hear, one of them probably had a knife. After the attack, the victim was brought to Lehman High School to look at I.D. card pictures and driven around the school by police at dismissal to see if he could identify the suspect who got away.”
According to sources close to the investigation, Lehman High School has offered to keep the student who was apprehended in the school during the school lunch program, but since the suspect is infrequently in class, this may not be of much help.
“The Department of Education has a responsibility not only to the students in its care, but also to the communities where its schools are located,” said AMPWS president John Bonizio. “For many years, the merchants and other groups in Westchester Square have brought up concerns about the unmonitored student lunch program that releases 4,000 students into the square. While we recognize the need for such a program, we cannot and will not tolerate criminal activity by students in Westchester Square. As much as possible, the merchants association will support the prosecution of any student engaged in criminal activity in Westchester Square.”
The 45th Precinct have interrogated the suspect, who is 16, but so far the names he gave for his accomplice have turned out to be dead ends. The police plan on continuing their investigation, but did not have the second suspect in custody as of press time.
