Cops arrest man who bashed Manhattan ice cream shop worker in head with rock during robbery: NYPD

MANHATTAN — Police have arrested a man behind a string of Manhattan robberies, including an incident in which the suspect was caught on video bashing a shop employee in the head with a rock, according to the NYPD.

Authorities said early Thursday that they had arrested Luis DeLeon, 50, in connection with at least four incidents between late December 2020 and late January 2021.

DeLeon will now face multiple charges, including grand larceny, robbery and petit larceny, police said.

Back on Jan. 20, the Manhattan man walked into Van Leeuwen Ice Cream on Third Avenue, in the Kips Bay neighborhood, and placed an order with the 23-year-old store employee before demanding money.

When the clerk told the man the shop was cashless, he lashed out, store owner Own Murphy told PIX11 in February.

Surveillance video shows the man pull out a large rock and smash it against the worker’s head.

She suffered a concussion and a laceration to her head.

Authorities also connected DeLeon to at least three other robberies in Manhattan between Dec. 27, 2020 and Jan. 13 of this year. No injuries were reported in the other three incidents.

Police received a report on Dec. 27, 2020 that a 32-year-old woman’s purse was removed from her table at The Maze restaurant on West 32nd Street. Then, on Jan. 7, a 59-year-old woman’s bag was reported stolen while she was inside the lobby of the Stewart Hotel.

Next, police believe the suspect went into the Kaylee Restaurant on East 27th Street on Jan. 13, pretended to have a weapon and demanded property from the 19-year-old employee behind the counter. He fled with the cash register, valued at around $400.