Robbery, Rape Spree Reported At 181 St. & Riverside Drive

34th Precinct News

Robbery, Rape Spree Reported At 181 St. & Riverside Drive

REPORTED BY BRIAN GRANT

34th Precinct police reported breaking up a recent spree of robbery, rape, and kidnapping at the west end of 181 Street, at Riverside Drive, in Washington Heights. Three suspects were arrested, one of whom was shot after firing four shots at police, the precinct reported.

On Wednesday, March 12, at 1:30 a.m., the anti-crime unit from the 34th Precinct received a call of a robbery in progress. The man who called police had just escaped from the trunk of a car where he had been left handcuffed.

One half hour earlier, the man was parking his car on 181 Street and Riverside Drive when he was approached by four male hispanics who identified themselves as police officers. The men, who were carrying walkie talkies, robbed him, forced him into the trunk of a car, and drove to Haven Avenue. They then returned to 1332 Riverside Drive, located at the west end of 181 Street along an exit ramp from the West Side Highway.

Entering that building, according to police, the robbers went on a vicious rampage. They beat one man unconscious and robbed him. Then entering another apartment, they robbed tenants and took turns raping a young girl who lived there.

The anti-crime unit, arriving on the scene, spotted Carlos DelRosario on the street and ordered him to halt. DelRosario, holding a walkie talkie and a handgun, fired four shots at police. An officer shot back, hitting DelRosario. Meanwhile, two men attempting to escape from the roof were captured by Officer John Galasso. The men both had Uzi type machine guns in their belts.

Captured and charged with armed robbery, rape, assault, kidnapping and impersonating a police officer were: Carlos DelRosario, 22, Julio Arce, 18, Guillermo Santos, 24, all of the Bronx.