New York City Police Department arrest Central Park rape suspect
Paulie Velez was wanted in connection to a rape near Central Park.
The man accused of raping a Central Park jogger posted photos on Instagram two months earlier showing off an ankle monitor that he had to wear after he was convicted of an eerily similar attack on a woman in Florida.
NYC POLICE ARREST CENTRAL PARK RAPE SUSPECT
Paulie Velez, 25, was arraigned Saturday after he allegedly grabbed a 27-year-old runner from behind, strangled her until she lost consciousness and raped her at about 7:10 a.m. near West 59th Street, according to court papers
Paulie Velez posing on Instagram with an ankle monitor.
In mid-October, Velez posted a snap of himself on Instagram posing in front of a mirror in a red shirt and white sweats displaying an ankle monitor with the caption "locked up, they won't let me out." He was outfitted with the device after he was convicted of a Feb. 12, 2020, attack on a 20-year-old woman in Miami-Dade County.
Velez allegedly grabbed the woman from behind, dragged her to the bushes, and demanded she remove her pants before two Good Samaritans intervened, the Miami Herald reported. He had also choked her repeatedly.
Paulie Velez posing on Instagram with an ankle monitor.
The police arrived and Velez admitted he had planned to rape the woman, the newspaper reported.
He took a plea deal that knocked down the charges to aggravated battery, tampering with a victim during the commission of a felony, and resisting an officer without violence. He served about one year in jail and agreed to two years of house arrest followed by eight years of probation with an electronic ankle monitor.
Paulie Velez in surveillance footage. (NYPD)
But a few days after posting the selfies featuring the monitor, Velez allegedly dismantled the device and fled to New York. He's wanted in Florida on the probation violation, according to public records.
MANHUNT FOR NEW YORK'S CENTRAL PARK RAPE SUSPECT CONTINUES, POLICE APPEAL FOR PUBLIC'S HELP
Cops caught Velez near his mom's Howard Beach home in Queens on Saturday. He was arraigned on one count each of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree strangulation, and second-degree robbery. He was ordered held without bail and sent to Rikers Island.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Velez also has convictions in Las Vegas and Pennsylvania, Manhattan prosecutors said at his arraignment.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
