A man has repeatedly followed women into their apartment buildings in upper Manhattan, then stole their purses or threatened them to hand over cash, police said.
In one case, the man held a knife to the throat of a woman who was checking her mailbox and forcibly removed her rings, the NYPD said.
Frank Peterson, 65, of Manhattan, was arrested Saturday and charged with robbery and burglary, police said.
In all, eight women were robbed in Harlem, East Harlem, Sugar Hill and the Upper East Side between Oct. 23 and Dec. 19., police said.
The first robbery was the only one that occurred on the street, not in a residential building, police said. In that case, a 64-year-old woman was pushed to the ground on 119th Street and the robber took her bag, which was empty.
The same day, a woman who was checking her mail inside an apartment building on 117th Street was hit in the face with a bike lock, police said. The robbery took her purse and jacket.
On Dec. 4, the robber followed a woman into her building at 111th Street, cornered her in the stairwell and demanded money, police said. He stole $21 and fled.
In a similar robbery on Dec. 13, the robber followed a woman into her building on East 82nd Street, cornered her in the stairwell and demanded money, police said. That time he got $10 before fleeing.
The next day, a man followed a 42-year-old woman into her building, brandished a screwdriver and demanded money, police said. He forcibly removed her necklace and fled.
On Dec. 16, he followed a 74-year-old woman into her building on West 122nd Street and onto the elevator, then demanded money. He fled with $10.
Two days later, he followed a 56-year-old woman into her building on West 149th Street and onto her elevator, police said. He threatened her and fled with an unknown amount of cash.
In the final robbery, on Monday, he approached a 78-year-old woman from behind while she was checking her mail and held a knife to her throat, police said. He forcibly removed her rings and some cash before fleeing the building on East 127th Street, police said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Peterson had an attorney.
Photo Credit: NYPD
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