The incident, which unfolded in the early hours of Saturday morning at the 59th Street Station, was captured on footage that has since been widely shared by the New York City Police Department. According to the authorities, the suspect, 41-year-old Alex Martinez, had a history of similar offenses, having been arrested last year for a comparable incident. The latest altercation occurred around 1 a.m. as the southbound train pulled into the station, with Martinez allegedly engaging in a struggle with the 23-year-old victim in an attempt to steal her bag. However, the perpetrator’s plans were swiftly thwarted by a team of “strategically deployed” NYPD Transit officers who were patrolling the station at the time. The footage shows the officers springing into action, chasing Martinez as he attempted to flee the scene, before subduing him on the stairs and returning the stolen purse to its rightful owner. “In a matter of seconds, a recidivist thief, who had been arrested last year for a similar incident, recently snatched a woman’s purse while she was riding the train,” the NYPD wrote in a social media post, praising the officers’ swift response and successful apprehension of the suspect. NYPD Chief of Transit, Michael Kemper, further elaborated on the incident, revealing that Martinez is “WELL KNOWN to the NYPD” and had an active bench warrant for his arrest, as well as a pending court case for a different grand larceny arrest that occurred in another Manhattan subway station in October 2023. For the latest case, Martinez was charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, with the NYPD confirming that the stolen purse was returned to the victim. The heart-pounding footage, which lasts just 48 seconds, captures the officers’ pursuit of the suspect, chasing him across the length of the platform and over turnstiles before stopping him halfway up one of the station’s stairwells. The clip is sure to inject any viewer with a healthy dose of adrenaline, as the officers can be heard shouting, “Hey, get down!” before placing Martinez in handcuffs. The incident is the latest in a series of subway-related crimes that have plagued New York City’s transit system, with the issue being labeled one of the city’s major crises. While statistics suggest that transit offenses are down slightly, the perception of an increasingly unsafe subway system remains a concern for both residents and officials. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has faced criticism for his approach to repeat offenders, acknowledged the problem, stating, “I know the statistics, that transit crime is down, but when one of my family members gets on the train, I, too, get a knot in my stomach.”
Bragg’s comments highlight the ongoing challenges faced by the city in addressing the issue of subway-related crimes, which have included incidents such as a stabbing that occurred a day after the purse-snatching incident, as well as a separate case involving a male suspect who approached a woman on a southbound 4 train and exposed himself. The arrest of Alex Martinez, while a positive step, serves as a reminder of the persistent nature of the problem and the need for continued vigilance and effective law enforcement strategies to ensure the safety and security of New York City’s subway system and its passengers.
