DA VANCE: ANTHONY WHITE CONVICTED AT TRIAL OF STRANGLING, ROBBING FOUR ELDERLY MEN AND TWO OTHERS IN DAYTIME ATTACKS IN AND AROUND SUBWAY STATIONS
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced last week the trial conviction of ANTHONY WHITE, 44, for the robbery and strangulation assault of six victims in Manhattan subway stations and surrounding areas in August 2011. The defendant was found guilty by a jury in New York State Supreme Court of all of the charges in the indictment: Robbery in the First, Second, and Third Degrees and Strangulation in the First and Second Degrees. WHITE is expected to be sentenced on November 13, 2014.
“The more than 5 million people who ride the subway every day in this city should not have to look over their shoulders for fear of being robbed,” said District Attorney Vance. “Anthony White purposely selected victims whom he could easily overpower, including four men over the age of 70. He choked them from behind and violently robbed them, all in broad daylight. He now faces a lengthy prison sentence thanks to the sharp eyes of the NYPD and the hard work of my Office’s prosecutors.”
As proven at trial, at approximately 9 a.m. on August 13, 2011, WHITE attacked a 71-year-old man on the platform of the N/R subway station at West 28th Street and Broadway. WHITE approached the victim from behind, choked him until he lost consciousness, and stole $150 from his pocket before fleeing. The victim suffered a stroke in the hours following the attack, and had to be hospitalized for approximately a month.
Over the course of the next thirteen days, WHITE similarly attacked five other men, all between the ages of 38 and 85, choking them from behind and stealing their money and other personal items.
In one instance, on August 16, 2011, WHITE followed a 75-year-old man into a commercial building near the entrance of the West 28th Street N/R station. The defendant entered the elevator behind the victim, choked him, and stole approximately $200 from his wallet. Between August 18, 2011, and August 26, 2011, WHITE attacked two more men in the same West 28th Street station, as well as a 78-year-old man in the West 23rd Street and 8th Avenue station A/C/E station, and an 85-year-old man in the West 72nd Street and Central Park Avenue A/B/C station.
The August 26th attack at the 28th Street station was captured on surveillance camera. Three days later, an undercover NYPD transit officer recognized WHITE at the West 28th Street station and placed him under arrest.
Assistant District Attorneys Jonathan Rebold and David Drucker, Senior Trial Counsel of Trial Bureau 50, handled the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Warren Murray, Chief of Trial Bureau 50, and Executive Assistant District Attorney John Irwin, Chief of the Trial Division. Trial Preparation Assistant Campbell McLaren, II assisted with the case.
District Attorney Vance thanked members of the NYPD’s Manhattan Transit Robbery Squad, particularly Detective Ernest Dorvil.
Defendant Information:
ANTHONY WHITE, D.O.B. 3/29/1970
Brooklyn, NY
Convicted:
- Robbery in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
- Strangulation in the First Degree, a class C felony, one count
- Robbery in the Second Degree, a class C felony, four counts
- Strangulation in the Second Degree, a class D felony, four counts
- Robbery in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count