Manhattanite Demands Free Ride to NYC at Knifepoint

NEW CITY, NY — The Clarkstown Police Department arrested a Manhattan man Tuesday for holding a knife to the throat of a Prestige Taxi driver and demanding a ride to New York City.

At about 5:30 PM the Clarkstown Police Department responded to the area of the Calvary Drive commuter lot in New City for a report of an assault. Officers interviewed the taxi driver, a 27-year-old woman from West Haverstraw, who said she had picked up a man from Beechwood Lane in Garnerville.

She was going to drop him off at the commuter lot on Calvary Drive in New City so he could get a bus to New York City when he put a knife to her throat and demanded she take him there.

The taxi driver instinctively tried to push the knife away and suffered a cut to her thumb, police said.

The man then ran away.

Police found him nearby on Route 304.

The taxi driver was treated for a minor laceration at Nyack Hospital. The knife was not found at the scene.

The suspect was identified as Joshua Bray, 30. Bray was arrested and transported to police headquarters. He was charged with assault 2nd (felony), attempted kidnapping 2nd (felony) and criminal possession of a weapon 4th (misdemeanor).

He was arraigned in Clarkstown Justice Court. Bail was set at $75,000. Bray was transported to Rockland County Jail and will return to court on September 16, 2016 at 9:30 AM.