A 44-year-old Bronx man accused of pulling a knife on a fellow train rider and stealing $800, an ID, and a hat eluded a multi-agency manhunt across the East End for a month before authorities caught up with him. Andre Mantuck now faces first-degree robbery and weapon possession charges that could send him to prison for up to 25 years if he is convicted.
According to The East Hampton Star, the alleged robbery unfolded on a train in East Hampton after an unidentified Amagansett man stepped away to use the restroom. When he returned, Mantuck was allegedly sitting next to his belongings. The Star reports Mantuck brandished a knife in the victim's face before making off with the cash, identification, and hat.
The victim tried to stop Mantuck from leaving as the train pulled into the East Hampton station, then attempted to follow him off the train, but was unsuccessful, per the Star's account. He called 911 and reported the theft to East Hampton Village police. The station itself, built in 1895 on the LIRR Montauk Branch and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, sits about 0.3 miles from the center of East Hampton Village on Railroad Avenue, according to Wikipedia.
A Coordinated Search Comes Up Empty
Mantuck eluded authorities during the initial search, which the Star's report described as a coordinated effort involving East Hampton Village police, East Hampton Town police, and a K-9 tracking team brought in from the neighboring Southampton Village Police Department. Village and town police also deployed drones during the hunt, the outlet's report notes. Despite the manpower, Mantuck managed to slip away from the area surrounding the historic station.
It took roughly a month before East Hampton Town police caught up with Mantuck, on August 12. Village police then took custody of him. Metropolitan Transportation Authority detectives, who hold primary law enforcement jurisdiction over LIRR trains, tracks, and stations across a 5,000-square-mile territory spanning New York and Connecticut under a department formed in 1998, per Metro Magazine, charged Mantuck with robbery.
Charges Range From Felony to Misdemeanor
Mantuck is charged with first-degree robbery, a Class B felony that under New York Penal Law § 160.15 involves forcibly stealing property while armed with a deadly weapon or threatening its immediate use, carrying a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 25 years in state prison, according to the New York State Senate. He also faces third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a Class D felony under Penal Law § 265.02 carrying a maximum of seven years, which the Law Office of Cory Garcia, P.C. notes can elevate what might otherwise be a misdemeanor weapon charge to a felony under the state's “bump-up” rule if the accused has a prior criminal conviction.
Rounding out the charges, Mantuck faces second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal mischief, both Class A misdemeanors, the Star's report states. Menacing under Penal Law § 120.14 applies when a defendant intentionally places another person in reasonable fear of physical injury by displaying a dangerous instrument, punishable by up to a year in county jail or three years of probation. Criminal mischief under Penal Law § 145.00 covers intentional property damage without any minimum monetary threshold.
Arraignment and Detention
East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky arraigned Mantuck and set bail at $25,000 cash, $50,000 bond, or $75,000 unsecured bond. The Star's report indicates Mantuck failed to make bond. Under New York Criminal Procedure Law, local town justice courts handle initial arraignments and bail, and when a defendant cannot post bail, custody transfers to the county sheriff's office for transport to a county facility to await grand jury action.
The Suffolk County Sheriff's Office transported Mantuck to the county jail in Riverside, where he is now being held. That facility, a medium-security jail that originally opened in 1969, is where pre-trial detainees from East Hampton justice court are sent when bail goes unmet, according to the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office. Earlier this year, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved an $18.8 million bond to overhaul the facility's 57-year-old kitchen and building infrastructure, as reported by the Riverhead News-Review.
It remains unclear whether the $800, identification, and hat allegedly stolen from the victim were recovered when Mantuck was arrested, or whether his case has yet been presented to a Suffolk County grand jury for indictment. The Star's report also does not specify whether a prior conviction contributed to the felony weapon charge.
