Caught him. And just as he was trying to skip town.In New Jersey, police have arrested the mugger responsible for a recent string of violent attacks against Asian residents on Manhattan's Upper East Side over the last two weeks: Man Arrested in Attacks on Asians in East Harlem.
According to authorities, 34-year-old Jason Commisso was apprehended by New Jersey state troopers and New York police officers on the New Jersey Turnpike, while on a southbound interstate bus headed for Richmond, Virginia.
He was wanted in connection with eight different robberies -- all targeting men and women of Asian descent -- since January 17:
The Police Department had made catching the robber one of its priorities, deploying additional officers into the neighborhood, assigning Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking officers to talk to people in the community and papering the area with fliers in multiple languages. They identified Jason Commisso, 34, as a suspect over the weekend.It looks like Commisso knew the cops were after him, and was trying to get the hell out of town. He had five Greyhound tickets in his possession, all under the name Dwight Braswell -- final destination: San Antonio -- and even cut his hair in order to change his appearance. Rot in jail, asshole. More here: Suspect Arrested In Violent East Harlem Elevator Attacks On Asians.
The string of mostly daytime crimes followed a brutal pattern, the police said: a single robber would follow men and women — all of Asian descent, most over 40 — as they entered apartment buildings. He then shadowed them into elevators, where he would repeatedly punch them in the face before making off with their belongings. At least eight people have been attacked, the police said.