Police: Port Chester Man Assaulted By Harrison Teens

Five teenagers have been arrested for their involvement in the brutal ambush and beating of a Port Chester man that took place Saturday night on Winfield Avenue in Harrison, police say.

The attackers—all but one of whom are from Harrison—lured the male victim to the secluded street by pretending to be a girl interested in a meet up, police say. While the victim waited in his vehicle at about 10:30 p.m., police say three teenage males attacked him with sawed-off lacrosse sticks and clubs and then kicked him once he was on the ground.

The victim suffered severe injuries including a deep cut on his head.

Two girls who police say helped lure the victim to the scene watched the beating from a nearby parked car, police say. The group of teens stole jewelry, sneakers and $100 cash before leaving the scene, police say.

Police have arrested three males, aged 15, 16 and 19, all from Harrison, and two 15-year-old females, one from Harrison and one from Rye. Police are not releasing the names of the charged because they are eligible for youthful offender status.

After the beating, the victim was able to leave the scene in his vehicle despite severe injuries. He flagged down a responding officer in the area moments later and was rushed to White Plains Hospital. A friend of the victim's family told Patch Monday evening that the victim was still in critical condition at that time.

There was still blood on the road at the scene of the attack Sunday morning.

"This is a cold-blooded, brutal, beating and robbery," said Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini.

Police believe the motive for the incident dates back several months to a series of Facebook conversation between the victim and a teenage girl. After the chats cooled off between the two, police believe the girl broke contact with the victim, but offered a Blackberry Messenger phone number, saying that the number belonged to another female interested in meeting him.

Instead, police believe the phone number belonged to one of the attackers.

Police say the attackers used ensuing conversations to lure the unwitting male to meet with them on Winfield Avenue Saturday night. Police believe one of the female suspects even answered the phone at one point, pretending to be the fictitious girl.

"It was definitely planned and pre-meditated," Marraccini said.

Police do not believe the girl from the Facebook conversations was at the scene Saturday night. She has not been charged at this point, according to police.

Each of the five suspects was charged with robbery in the first degree and gang assault in the first degree—felonies. All were arrested Sunday morning and released on $10,000 bond.

Marraccini said although this is an isolated incident, it underscores the department's need for a bigger presence in Harrison's schools. He specifically cited his on-going desire to rebuild a detective youth division that has been  because of budget cuts.