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A homeless man with an extensive criminal history was reportedly arrested after he punched two kids selling candy inside a Manhattan train station during an attempted robbery, police sources told the New York Post.
Alvin Doris, 62, was charged with robbery, acting in a manner injurious to a child, assault and criminal mischief in relation to the incident. Doris allegedly followed the two boys, identified as an 11-year-old and 16-year-old, inside the Broadway-Lafayette B/D/F/M station at around 6:30 p.m., at which point he tried to steal $40 from the younger boy before attempting to grab the teenager's cell phone, according to police.
Doris then reportedly went ballistic after the 16-year-old tried to get his phone back, punching the teenager in the face before throwing the phone on the ground and then punching the 11-year-old in the face, which resulted in a fractured nose, according to officials.
Doris, whose last known address was the Bowery Mission homeless shelter in Lower Manhattan, had previously been arrested nine times since 1994, all of which were incidents that took place in the Lower Manhattan area, according to the Post. The 62-year-old had previously been detained for four separate assault incidents, the latest of which occurred in 2012 when he punched a 26-year-old woman in the face in.
Doris also previously faced an arson charge for intentionally starting a fire that damaged a Lower Manhattan building.