Thanks to some anonymous tipsters, an Upper West Side man has been charged with violently beating a senior bicyclist in Central Park following a near-collision on Thursday.
Police said Angelo Del Guerico, 59, of West 92nd Street was cuffed Friday afternoon on charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly attacking the 66-year-old female victim on Oct. 5.
Several tips sent to the Crime Stoppers hotline helped police identify Del Guerico as the suspect and take him into custody, law enforcement sources said Saturday. One individual who had seen the initial story about the case on amNewYork Metro Friday morning told us they had recognized the man in the image police provided, identified him as Del Guerico, and had contacted police.
According to authorities, the victim was riding with her daughter on separate bikes in the area of West 96th Street and West Drive at about 2:20 p.m. that day when she almost collided with Del Guerico as he walked along the bike path.
According to authorities, Del Guerico allegedly began to yell at the victim, then pulled out what appeared to be a collapsible baton and struck her on the head repeatedly, causing a laceration.
The victim’s daughter, who viewed the attack, then tried to confront Del Guerico and recorded a cellphone video of him as he strode away. In the video, he’s seen folding the collapsible baton and then concealing it. He ultimately fled the scene in an unknown direction.
The incident was reported to the Central Park Precinct. EMS rushed the 66-year-old woman to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.
Normally one of the more serene areas of the city, the Central Park Precinct had catalogued just seven felony assaults this year through Oct. 1, according to the most recent CompStat report. That’s down from the 13 assaults tallied at the same point in 2022.
Updated on Oct. 7 at 8:15 a.m.
