Police have arrested a man accused of attacking four Asian women on the Lower East Side over a two week period last month.
44-year-old Gilbert Mack was taken into custody this past weekend in connection with the incidents, which started on Feb. 17 on Catherine Street. At an initial court appearance, bond was set at $50,000. He remains in custody. Mack faces burglary and assault charges. His next hearing is scheduled for Friday.
The attacks all happened in the late evening hours. The victims said their attacker demanded money and punched them in the face or pushed them to the ground. Only Asian women were targeted.
The New York Daily News reported that the same man was responsible for the February incidents and the attempted rape on Friday of a woman in her Ludlow Street apartment building. But police tell us today that the crimes are unrelated; Mack is not a suspect in the Ludlow Street attack.
Police continue to search for 41-year-old Robert Adams, who allegedly followed his victim into 139 Norfolk St. He groped her and tried to remove the women’s clothing, but she screamed and he fled.
