New Jersey Man Arrested in BPC Assault, Attempted Robbery

Near the site of the attack on North End Avenue, 1st Precinct officers seek help in identifying the man in a surveillance photo of the suspect. Photo: NYPD

A New Jersey man was arrested Saturday in the assault and attempted robbery late last month of a woman in Battery Park City.

According to law enforcement officials, Leonard Demo, 26, of New Milford, NJ, knocked on a car parked on the west side of River Terrace near Warren Street around 8:50 p.m. on Saturday, July 29. After pulling open the door, he allegedly said to the woman inside, “Give me your money, bitch.” Police say Demo punched the woman in the face before fleeing north on River Terrace without getting any money. The victim suffered a laceration, swelling, and substantial pain, according to the criminal complaint against Demo.

“On Friday evening [Aug. 4] around 6:30 p.m., I directed a ‘community outreach initiative’ in the vicinity of the crime scene,” Dep. Inspector Mark Iocco, the 1st Precinct commanding officer, told the Trib in an email. “Sgt. Matthew Woods and ten police officers walked Battery Park City block by block engaging the community with the wanted photo of the suspect.” After about 40 minutes, Iocco said, a bellman at the Conrad Hotel, 102 North End Ave., said that the man in the photo had been at the rooftop bar on the previous Saturday, the night of the incident.

“I called over my detectives who were able to piece together the rest,” Iocco said.

After being contacted and visited by 1st Precinct detectives, Iocco said, the suspect voluntarily walked into the station house and was arrested there.

Twenty minutes before the incident in Battery Park City, according to officials, Demo banged on a security booth at 101 Barclay Street, breaking the glass. (See surveillance video below, released by the NYPD.) Along with a charge of second-degree attempted robbery, Demo is also charged with third-degree criminal mischief in that first incident. Demo was released on his own recongizance with the stipulation that he attend an alcohol treatment program, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office. His next court date is Sept. 26.

A spokewoman for the The Legal Aid Society, which represented Demo at arraignment, declined to comment on the case.