The suspect in the gunpoint robbery of a 99-year-old landlord still actively managing his Washington Heights apartment building who later died from a stroke was brought to New York from Philadelphia to face justice Friday, police said.
Domingo Vasquez Rodriguez, 39, is charged with robbery, burglary, assault and grand larceny, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced on Friday.
Vasquez Rodriguez was picked up by Philly police on Sept. 27, five days after he allegedly robbed Jose Antonio Tur of $20,000 at the apartment building near W. 187th St. and Audubon Ave. that Tur had managed for decades, police sources told the Daily News. Tor suffered a stroke one day after the robbery and died on Oct. 8.
“As alleged, Domingo Vasquez Rodriguez callously assaulted and then robbed 99-year-old Jose Antonio Tur at gunpoint before fleeing with his cash,” D.A. Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “Mr. Tur was a pillar of his community and deeply loved by his family members.”
Vasquez Rodriguez previously lived in the building and owed Tur roughly $30,000 in back rent, according to court documents. Tur offered him $8,000 just to get out, which Vasquez Rodriguez accepted before moving to Philadelphia in August. But in September, the suspect called Tur’s grandson, claiming he was owed more money, court documents state. Soon after that, Vasquez Rodriguez committed the robbery, according to prosecutors.
“It’s just disgust with how things have gotten where there is no respect,” Tur’s grandson Jose Tur, 31, said after his death. “There is no consequence for wrongdoing. I don’t feel much relief when they caught the guy. Now I have to worry and see where the case goes and how the judge is going to treat it.”
Jose Antonio Tur, a 99-year-old landlord, suffered a stroke the day after being the victim of a gunpoint robbery at an apartment building on W. 187th St. near Audubon Ave. in Manhattan. (Google)
Cops believe Rodriguez lured Tur to the building before robbing him, police sources said. On the day of the stickup, the nonagenarian received two calls from someone who asked him in Spanish to meet him at 10 a.m. at a side entrance to the building to receive a package, according to police.
A person wearing a ski mask and hoodie ambushed Tor, pushing him into the building while holding a gun to his throat, cops said.
Surveillance footage reviewed by The News shows the masked bandit holding a gun to Tur’s back as they walk down a hallway into a basement office. After stealing the money from the office, the defendant ran off and drove back to Philadelphia the same day, police and prosecutors said.
Tur was treated at the hospital for two broken fingers and a cut on his hand requiring stitches that he sustained while struggling with the gunman. He suffered a stroke the next day.
Tur died on Oct. 8 after hanging on for more than two weeks.
Rodriguez’s arraignment was pending in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday.