A 74-year-old man wanted for cutting tires on seven New York police cars outside a Queens police station returned to the scene two days later to report his vehicle stolen and was arrested, authorities said Monday.
Identified as Jose Patino, he was dressed in the same clothing Sunday as two days earlier when he allegedly attacked outside the 112th Precinct police station on Auston Street near Yellowstone Boulevard in Forest Hills, officials said.
The subject slashed a tire on four marked and three unmarked NYPD cars at about 7 a.m., police said.
Officers said at the time that the man, dressed in a brown hat, black pants and a multi-colored jacket, got into a beige SUV and drove away.
Authorities released surveillance footage last Friday of the elderly man and asked for the public’s help in identifying him.
When Patiño showed up Sunday to report his own vehicle stolen, officers recognized him from security camera video and questioned him about the cuts on the tires, leading him to confess, the Daily News reported.
The suspect, who according to officials resides in Bushwick, Brooklyn, was charged with criminal misconduct. He has no prior arrests and it was not clear why he committed the crime.
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