An ex-con member of the “Billy Bad Ass” gang was busted in the random assault of a 70-year-old straphanger aboard a Manhattan train Sunday, police said.
The elderly victim was riding a southbound A train through the 145th Street station in Harlem around 11:30 p.m. when two men – including the 27-year-old criminal on parole – stormed up to him, cops said.
One of the men — both strangers to the victim — punched him in the face for no reason, cops and law-enforcement sources said.
A quick-thinking straphanger pointed out one of the two suspects to responding cops, who took him into custody at the scene, sources said.
It was not immediately clear whether he was the alleged puncher or the accomplice. The second suspect got away.
The man in cuffs – who was arrested but not officially charged by Monday afternoon – is a known gang member with 14 prior arrests, including two for gun-related offenses, sources said.
His “Billy Bad Ass” gang is a subset of the Bloods-affiliated Nine Trey Gangsters group, according to a WSOC-TV probe.
The city suspect is on parole for a criminal possession of a weapon in Queens, with his supervision set to expire in 2027, state corrections records show.
He is also wanted in connection to two Queens shootings, both from 2016, according to the sources.
The victim in the subway attack was treated on scene for cuts on his nose, eye and forehead, sources said.
A total of 119 felony assaults have been reported in the city’s subway system so far this year, slightly down from the 124 tallied during the same period in 2024, according to the latest NYPD data.
However, misdemeanor assaults have risen to 332 from the 312 for the same time periods, stats show.
