Credit: R. Borchardt - Hamodia

Seven-Time Felon Arrested for Robbing Scooter From Child

by S. Marcus and R. Borchardt – Hamodia

A 59-year-old man who has been convicted of at least seven prior felonies has been arrested for the theft of an electric scooter from a 6-year-old boy in Boro Park earlier this month.

Six-year-old Simcha was riding his scooter on 12th Avenue at 35th Street on July 7 when a man grabbed the scooter away and rode off on it. The incident drew outrage as a new low in a city experiencing a surge of crimes.

On Monday morning, police arrested Daniel Ufares, 59, of Bushwick, and charged him with robbery and criminal possession of stolen property.

Court records reviewed by Hamodia show Ufares to have seven prior felony convictions, including four for robbery.

In one case, in 2009, Ufares robbed $4,230 from a bank in the Upstate New York town of DeWitt. According to prosecutors, during that robbery Ufares wore a camouflage mask and skin-darkening makeup, and covered his hand with a sleeve, pointing it in the shape of a gun. He pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, receiving a 15-year sentence.

According to the New York Post, Ufares served nine years of that sentence, and is still on supervised release. Since his release, he has twice been previously arrested, both times for stealing food from supermarkets.

The Post reported that Ufares also previously served seven years from 2002 to 2009 for another robbery; more than five years from 1993 to 1999 for drug-peddling and violating parole, and 15 months from 1991 to 1992 for attempted burglary. He was also arrested for alleged robbery in 1984, attempted murder in 1989, and assaulting a police officer in 1991, though the outcome of those cases was not immediately known.

Police did not recover the stolen scooter.

According to Post, police identified Ufares by running surveillance video of the scene through the NYPD’s facial-recognition technology, and when he was arrested, Ufares confessed that he sold the scooter to get money for drugs.

But the story already had a happy ending for Simcha. In the days following the robbery, people from around the city reached out to the boy’s family and offered to buy a new scooter. On his seventh birthday on July 13, Simcha was presented with a gift of a brand-new scooter and safety helmet by Toys 2 Discover owner Yonasan Schwartz, in front of the 66th Precinct station.