MTA Employee Arrested For Swiping A Sleeping Rider's Headphones
March 1, 2019, 1:47 p.m.
An on-duty MTA custodian allegedly possessing a substance believed to be heroin was arrested this morning after police officers observed him swiping a pair of headphones from a sleeping 6 train rider.
Flickr user/<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninostoyanov/12161444914/in/photolist-9wwm4x-5KMsgX-jwEzSJ-9Ksqen-dG1wtA-v6jTK7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ninostoyanov</a>
An on-duty MTA custodian allegedly possessing a substance believed to be heroin was arrested this morning after swiping a pair of headphones from a sleeping 6 train rider, authorities said.
According to police, Juan Irizarry, 30, was busted while riding a northbound 6 train near Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall station at around 3:30 a.m. on Friday morning. An NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist that two plainclothes officers observed Irizarry removing the sleeping rider's headphones from his pocket. The victim was a 30-year-old Bronx resident, and the headphones were reportedly Beats by Dre—retail value: $300 to $400.
The alleged MTA bandit was charged with grand larceny, as well as criminal possession of a controlled substance. The police spokesperson said the MTA employee was found to be carrying what appeared to be "glycine containing heroin."
Irizarry, who has worked for the MTA since July of 2016, will be suspended without pay, according to MTA spokesperson Shams Tarek. "These are very disturbing allegations and we will conduct a full investigation in cooperation with the NYPD," he added.
