NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A homeless man from Alabama was arrested Thursday in connection with two gunpoint robberies in Central Park over the past week.
Andrew Thornton, 34, was charged with two counts each of robbery, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.
Thornton's last known address was in Auburn, Alabama.
Thornton was arrested after the NYPD sent more patrols to Central Park armed with photos of the bike-riding suspect in the two robberies last Friday and this past Tuesday.
NYPD officer Armando Guzman spotted the bicycle used in the robberies near Strawberry Fields and encountered a man fitting a description of the suspect, police said.
NYPD Captain William Gallagher said police also recovered a loaded gun believed to have been used in the robberies.
A 55-year-old man was robbed of over $1,000 near W. 72nd Street and Central Park West last Friday morning, according to police.
Days later, a 67-year-old woman was walking on the west path near the Pond on Tuesday afternoon when she was robbed of her purse, police said.
No injuries were reported in either robbery.
Sources told the Daily News that Thornton had been living in a tent inside Central Park.
According to the latest NYPD statistics, crime in the park is actually down slightly this year over last year.
