He just couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
The creep who accosted a woman in a Sunnyside apartment building early on Sunday morning, March 12, is also accused of groping a customer at a nearby supermarket just minutes before the attack, according to police.
Police released on Tuesday a video of the male suspect as he pinched the backside of a female customer at the Food Universe supermarket at 44-07 43rd Ave. at 12:20 a.m. on March 12. A second video shows the same man 10 minutes later accosting a woman who fought off his advances inside a nearby apartment building.
In the first incident, authorities said, the perpetrator — described as a Hispanic male standing 5 foot 5 inches tall with brown eyes and brown hair wearing a black jacket, blue pants and black shoes — walked up to a 39-year-old woman in the frozen foods section of the Food Universe and engaged her in a brief conversation.
Security camera footage taken at the supermarket shows the suspect grabbing the woman’s buttocks as he walked away.
Law enforcement sources said the suspect then followed a 28-year-old woman into an apartment house in the area of 43rd Avenue and 42nd Street at about 12:30 a.m. He approached her near a stairwell, then pushed the woman against the wall and placed his hand over her mouth in an attempt to stop her from screaming.
As the second video shows, the victim managed to swing her arm and pushed back the perpetrator, who ran off. Police said he was last seen walking southbound on 42nd Street.
The incidents reported to the 108th Precinct; neither victim was injured.
Anyone with information regarding the incidents or the suspect’s whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit their website or send a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
