A New York City man with a lengthy criminal record was arrested and charged Thursday in the brutal November beating of a Thai woman on a subway platform in the city, according to reports.
Kevin Douglas, 40, was charged with second-degree robbery, third-degree robbery and second-degree assault, the New York Police Department said, according to the New York Post.
Douglas was arrested for another alleged assault on the same day he is accused of attacking Bew Jirajariyawetch, 23, in the subway. He was already in jail when he was arrested on Thursday.
He allegedly punched a random 34-year-old woman in the face, according to the Post.
Kevin Douglas (left) was arrested and charged for the November beating of Bew Jirajariyawetch on Thursday.
(NYPD)
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Douglas’ extensive record dates back to 1997 and includes 44 arrests – 16 on one day in May 2019 alone for unknown reasons, the Post reported. His arrests include assault, drugs, criminal tampering and illegal possession of a weapon.
An NYPD officer on patrol.
(iStock)
Jirajariyawetch, an aspiring model and fashion designer, was waiting to take a train home around 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 22 when a man grabbed her by the neck, pulling her back and throwing her to the ground, surveillance video appears to show. The suspect allegedly hit and groped her before stealing her purse, the Post reported.
The beating left her bloody and bruised in the abandoned Herald Square subway station.
A view of New York CIty’s Herald Square.
(iStock)
“I’m just glad that I’m still alive,” she told the Post. “Nothing can change what happened to me but I am happy to know he cannot do this to someone else,” she said.
The 23-year-old came to the U.S. from Thailand only a few months before the assault to study English and fashion, according to the Post.
Her lawyer Eric Parnes added, “Although this took an incredible amount of pressure and time to lead to an arrest, it does show that when the police and prosecutors are allowed to do their job without illogical restraints people can have some sense of hope that things can be better.”
Douglas’ bail was set at $75,000.
