A homeless man with a long criminal record hit two boys selling candy at a Manhattan train station Wednesday night during a botched robbery, officials and law enforcement sources said.
The two children – ages 11 and 16 – were selling candy inside the B/D/F/M station at Broadway-Lafayette around 6:30 p.m. when Alvin Doris followed them and attempted to steal. $40 from the younger boy before snatching a cellphone from the teen, police said.
When the 16-year-old tried to get his phone back, Doris allegedly went berserk – punching the teen repeatedly in the face, cops say.
Doris, 62, then threw the teen’s cellphone to the ground and punched him in the face, fracturing his nose, officials said.
Police charged Doris with robbery, harm to a child, assault and criminal mischief.
His last known address was at the Bowery Mission, a homeless shelter in Lower Manhattan.
Law enforcement sources said he had nine prior arrests dating back to 1994, many of which were concentrated in Lower Manhattan.
Doris was arrested for assault four times and was charged with arson for intentionally damaging a Lower Manhattan building by starting a fire, sources told the Post.
His last arrest for assault was in 2012, when he punched a 26-year-old woman in the face at the corner of Bowery and Prince Street.
Doris awaited her arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday evening.
New York Post
