Man Arrested for Punching, Robbing Woman in Upper East Side Building: Police

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A man accused of following a woman into her Upper East Side building to assault and rob her has been arrested.

Clarence Copeland, 54, of the Bronx, was placed into custody Friday night in connection with the violent robbery, police told Patch. Copeland allegedly punched a 54-year-old woman in the face before grabbing her bag and fleeing her apartment complex on East 67th Street and Madison Avenue. Copeland has been charged with second-degree robbery, police told Patch.

The woman suffered a laceration to her left eye and bruising to the face, police said. She was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where her injuries were treated, police told Patch.

Compstat crime statistics for the NYPD's 19th Precinct — which spans the entire Upper East Side — show that robberies are less frequent, but assaults are more frequent in the neighborhood compared to last year. By Dec. 4 in 2015 there had been 96 reported robberies and 116 reported assaults compared to 86 robberies and 118 assaults this year, according to the data.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

Photo by NYPD