Man with 44 prior arrests charged with multiple felonies for brutal assault of Thai model on NYC subway
By Carl Samson
Warning: This article contains descriptions of violence some readers may find disturbing.
A man has been charged in connection with a vicious attack that left a 23-year-old Thai model with a bloodied face in New York City last November.
The incident, which was caught on surveillance video, occurred on the 34th Street-Herald Square subway platform at around 4 a.m. on Nov. 22.
The victim, Bew Jirajariyawetch, was waiting for a train home when someone grabbed her from behind, dragged her along the platform, punched her in the face and took off with her wallet.
The attack left Jirajariyawetch “unquestionably traumatized” and suffering from “persistent nightmares,” her attorney Eric Parnes told the Daily Mail.
Jirajariyawetch, who had moved from Thailand to New York to study English and pursue a modeling career, said she was “lucky to be alive” after the incident.
On Saturday, police announced that they had charged 40-year-old Kevin Douglas with second-degree robbery, third-degree robbery and second-degree assault in connection with the attack as of last Thursday.
Douglas, however, has been in police custody since Nov. 22, when he was arrested just hours after he allegedly attacked Jirajariyawetch — for a separate crime he allegedly committed in Jamaica. Police were only able to connect him with the subway incident last week.
Records show Douglas has been arrested 44 times for crimes dating back to 1997. He was even arrested a record 16 time in a single day on May 13, 2019, according to the New York Post.
Douglas remains behind bars on a $75,000 bail. He will return to court on April 11.
The news of the arrest brought a sense of relief to Jirajariyawetch, who told the New York Post, “Nothing can change what happened to me but I am happy to know he can not do this to someone else.”
Featured Image via New York Police Department
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