A parolee with almost two dozen earlier arrests was busted Thursday for trying to rape and rob a girl in Downtown Brooklyn after posing as an immigration agent, cops and sources stated.
Leon Howell, 43, allegedly took the 51-year-old girl’s iPhone in the course of the brutal Tuesday assault contained in the basement in a constructing at Montague and Henry Streets – however that ended up working to cops’ benefit once they used the sufferer’s Discover my iPhone app to trace him down, the regulation enforcement sources stated.
Howell – who was simply paroled final month in connection to the 2017 strangulation of a stranger in Brooklyn – was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree theft, second-degree assault, third-degree housebreaking and fourth-degree prison possession of stolen property, police stated.
The girl was ready for a cab within the constructing’s foyer at Montague and Henry streets round 10:50 a.m. when Howell allegedly approached her and claimed he was an immigration officer, authorities stated.
He then allegedly dragged the lady into an elevator, taking her all the way down to the basement, police sources stated.
There, he punched the lady within the face, knocking her to the ground, the sources stated.
Howell then allegedly took off the lady’s pants and underwear — till she pleaded with him to cease, the sources stated.
The vicious attacker grabbed the lady’s chain, cellphone and purse earlier than fleeing on Montague Avenue towards Henry Avenue, cops stated.
The sufferer was taken to an area hospital, the place she was handled for cuts on her face, scratches and bruises, however was listed in steady situation, authorities stated.
Investigators imagine the lady might have been focused due to her ethnicity or race, sources stated.
Howell has 20 prior arrests, sources stated.
The busts embody a 2018 assault whereas he was locked up on Rikers Island, cops stated. It’s unclear who he allegedly assaulted in that case or the crime he was being held on throughout his time within the metropolis lock-up.
He was additionally arrested in 2017 for allegedly strangling a feminine stranger from behind in a random assault inside a Brooklyn public toilet, cops stated.
He was sentenced to seven years in state jail in connection to that incident, and served time from July 2019 till he was launched this previous Jan. 14, state Corrections information present.
His parole is ready to run out in 2029.