Crime & Safety

Precinct Top Cop Makes Robbery Bust

Deputy Inspector John Argenziano nabbed four teens suspected of stealing a cellphone.

There's a reason he's in charge of the 78th Precinct.

Deputy Inspector John Argenziano personally busted a group of thugs who robbed a BlackBerry from a 14-year-old boy Tuesday afternoon outside M.S. 51 on Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue.

The eagle-eyed commanding officer was patrolling the neighborhood at about 6 p.m. when he spotted a group of teens walking near Seventh Avenue and Ninth Street.

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Argenziano stopped the four teenagers when he noticed one of the young men sporting a stripped Adidas jacket, which matched a description of the jacket worn by one of the suspected robbers, according to cops at the precinct.

The 14-year-old victim was brought to the scene where he fingered the teens as the ones who snatched his phone. The whole group — Omar Slade, 18; Theodore Henderson, 17; Francisco Diaz, 16 and Terrence Hayes, also 18 — was arrested and charged with robbery.

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"I'm the only C.O. [commanding officer] that makes robbery collars," Argenziano jokingly said Tuesday night following the monthly Precinct Community Council meeting, noting that he also made four robbery arrests last year.


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