Career NYC pick-pocketer with over 70 arrests is back on the streets: cops
A career pick-pocketer included in the NYPD’s list of biggest subway crime recidivists is back on the streets after yet another alleged crime, authorities said.
Darin Mickens — who has 72 arrests — allegedly pulled a wallet from a Philadelphia teen’s backpack at Market Street and East Broadway in Chinatown on July 2, a police source said. Mickens claimed he found the tan wallet, the source added. He was arrested on charges of felony grand larceny.
Mickens, 56, was also arrested for allegedly stalking a woman as she walked with her daughter on Grand Street near Elizabeth Street. He “jostled” her bag open and plucked out her wallet, according to a criminal complaint.
Mickens was given a desk appearance ticket for the March incident, the DA’s office indicated.
As in the July case, cops were able to identify Mickens from surveillance footage in the area and arrested him on May 13, authorities said.
Like the dozens of other cases, Mickens who was featured in the NYPD’s “Nifty 50” deck of cards of the city’s biggest subway crime recidivists — was back out on the street in no time.
He pleaded not guilty to three counts of grand larceny June 25 and was given supervised release, by soft on crime Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The DA’s office noted the charges were not bail eligible.
And critics said there will be no end to the catch and release cycle until the law changes.
“This guy’s added 70 numbers to your list [of crimes in the city] and he’s out there doing it again,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“Some people will say he’s not dangerous. These crimes can turn into violent crimes in a second.”
Mickens and his attorney didn’t respond to requests for comment.
