Police

Reward offered after most recent downtown mugging

PDHQ

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers are offering a reward after a disabled man was assaulted in downtown Riverhead on June 1, being knocked from his wheelchair by a group of men who beat him with sticks or pipes before fleeing the scene. 

According to Riverhead police, the man was approaching the railroad tracks on Maple Avenue around 10:30 p.m. that Sunday, leaving the United Methodist Church and making his way northbound. Police said he was attacked from behind by at least a group of four people who struck him with the items, stealing his cash and prescription medications in the process.

The man said the group of men fled on foot, though wasn’t sure in which direction.

The victim described the mugging in an article on RiverheadLocal, saying “They grabbed me from behind, pulled me off my scooter and threw me to the ground and started wailing on me.”

The June 1 mugging was at least the sixth reported in the downtown area since the start of 2014 — all victims being males walking by themselves at night. The victim of an April assault near the tracks told police that he believed he was struck with “possibly a nearby tree branch” in the mugging.

Police said in April that they believed the assaults were all possibly related, however no recent arrests have been made. Monwell Wright, a homeless 20-year-old, pleaded guilty in March to a January mugging in Polish Town.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers are offering a cash reward in relation to the June 1 mugging on Maple Avenue. Up to $5,000 is offered for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS, or the Riverhead Police detectives at 631-727-4500 ext. 327. All calls will be kept confidential.

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