Convicted “granny basher” Jack Rhodes will be older than two of his victims when he gets out of jail.
Rhodes, 47, was convicted of first-degree burglary, first- and second-degree robbery – all as hate crimes because of the victim’s ages – and first-degree burglary, first- and second-degree robbery and second-degree assault on Tuesday, October 6 for the 2007 mugging of three Queens women – one of whom was 101 years old at the time.
“The defendant’s propensity to savagely accost elderly and defenseless women, two of whom needed the aid of a walker to get around, was rightly condemned by [the] guilty verdict,” said District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
Calls to Rhodes’ Legal Aid attorney were not returned as of press time.
Rhodes’ first victim, 51-year-old Angela Khan, was punched, kicked and robbed at her Jamaica home on December 30, 2006. She suffered a fractured nose, black eyes and lacerations to her face, which required six stitches. The attack was caught on surveillance video.
In March of 2007, Rhodes, who was riding a red, pink and black bicycle, accosted Rose Morat – who was 101 at the time and uses a walker – in the vestibule of her Highland Avenue building.
After allegedly offering to open the front door for her, Rhodes repeatedly punched Morat on the left side of her face, causing her to fall to the ground, while he demanded money from her. He then grabbed her pocketbook, which contained approximately $33, and her house keys and fled. Morat was taken to a local hospital and was treated for a fractured cheekbone, bruises to the left eye and facial swelling.
Approximately a half-hour later, 85-year-old Solange Elizee, who also uses a walker, was getting on the elevator of her 170th Street building at the lobby level when she saw Rhodes already on the elevator. Elizee exited the elevator alone one level below her floor and waited for the next elevator. As she attempted to enter her apartment, Rhodes allegedly blocked the door from closing and forced his way inside, where he repeatedly punched Elizee in the face, knocking her to the floor.
The defendant then removed two yellow metal rings from her hand and took her pocketbook, which contained approximately $32. He again fled on a bicycle. Elizee was taken to a local hospital and treated for lacerations to her lip, abrasions and bruising to her forearm, face and buttocks.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory L. Lasak, who presided over the four-week jury trial, set sentencing for November 12. Rhodes faces determinate sentences aggregating between 39 years and 90 years in prison.
