NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A homeless man stole a tugboat from a Manhattan pier early Thursday, then swam a half-mile in the Hudson River to steal a sailboat before he was arrested, the NYPD said.
Juan Hernandez, 22, was charged with grand larceny and grand larceny auto following the early morning joyride.
According to police, the illicit triathlon of sorts started around 2:30 a.m., when Hernandez jumped onto a tugboat at Pier 66 at West 27th Street in Chelsea.
He untied the tugboat and started drifting, but the tugboat got stuck near Pier 64 at West 24th Street, police said.
He then jumped off the tugboat and swam about a half-mile to a sailboat, which he also boarded, according to cops.
Members of the NYPD Harbor Unit responding to a 911 call ultimately arrested him on the sailboat after it floated down to Pier 51 in the West Village.
No injuries were reported.
