A 41-year-old man was caught using a student MetroCard to enter a Queens subway station last week and cops found that he was packing two weapons and had an active arrest warrant, authorities said.
Jephte Celius was swiping the city-issued pass – which is granted to eligible students in kindergarten through 12th grade – to avoid paying the fare at the Beach 25th Street A train station in Far Rockaway around 11:30 a.m. Friday, cops said.
Officers inside the station caught Celius using the pass – which clearly belonged to someone else – and stopped him, police said.
Police later determined there was an active warrant for his arrest – in connection to an open assault case – and found that he was carrying a baton as well as a gravity knife with a green handle, authorities said.
He was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, as well as theft of service, cops said.
No information was immediately available on the past assault. It’s also unclear how Celius got his hands on the student MetroCard.
“A ‘student’ in his 40’s tried entering the subway system with a MetroCard intended for school-age kids,” NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper tweeted. “Turns out the man was wanted for an open assault case – our Transit District 23 officers soon had the man in custody and seized a baton & knife from his possession.”
Celius has six prior arrests, including raps for assault, criminal mischief and bail jumping, authorities said.
Online records show that he was released on his own recognizance in connection to a misdemeanor assault and harassment case from late October of last year.
A temporary order of protection was issued.
Read the full article here
Discussion about this post