Hate crime charges filed in attacks on elderly

N.Y. man accused of mugging seniors, including 101-year-old woman

MSNBC video

Suspect arrested in beating of 101-year-old
April 27: New York City police arrested a suspect in the beating attacks, including the assault of a 101-year-old woman. MSNBC-TV's Mika Brzezinski reports.

MSNBC

Video: Crime & courts

More video

Caught on Camera: The Thin Blue line
July 3: They're on the front lines of right and wrong, and right in front of the camera. When they go to work, the camera rolls, capturing heart-stopping moments. Real cops, real life, all caught on camera.

Officer accused of choking a suspect

Uncle charged in kidnapping of niece

Body of missing 12-year-old girl found

Caught on Camera: On the Edge of Death

Stand and be counted

What keeps you up at night? Gut Check America wants you to tell us what really matters to our country. Click here to learn more and get involved.

NBC Field Notes

NBC News correspondents and producers across the U.S. shed light on the news of the day.

Photo features

Reuters	The Week in Pictures Everyday people living everyday lives despite heat and storms
Reuters	PhotoBlog View and discuss the pictures and issues that caught our eyes.

Most popular

• Most viewed

• Top rated

• Most e-mailed

Both left and right pile on Obama

Inside Mugabe's violent crackdown

Feds' closed-door deal could ease development

Ex-captive meets her kids for 1st time in 6 years

Troubled ex-NFLer dies in post-party car crash

Most viewed on msnbc.com

updated 9:44 p.m. ET April 28, 2007

NEW YORK - A man accused of beating and mugging a 101-year-old woman and two others was arraigned Saturday on charges that included hate crimes, authorities said.

Jack Rhodes, 44, was held without bail on charges of robbery, grand larceny, burglary and assault. Some of those charges were listed as hate crimes because two of the women were at least 60 years old. Authorities said Rhodes targeted the women because of their age, a violation of the New York State Hate Crimes Act of 2000.

Rhodes, whose last known address was in Queens, was arrested Friday on unrelated drug charges.

Story continues below ↓

Police questioned him after noticing he matched a photo of a person wanted in the attacks, including one on Rose Morat, 101, whose March 4 beating was caught on surveillance tape.

The grainy images show Morat, who was using a walker, trying to leave her apartment building when a man attacked her and hit her in the face. Morat suffered a fractured cheekbone and bruises. Her assailant got away with $33 and her house keys.

The footage caused public outrage and the NYPD assigned dozens of detectives to the case. The NYPD showed the surveillance video to every uniformed officer in the city.

Rhodes is also accused of attacking 85-year-old Solange Elizee, 51-year-old Angela Khan and burglarizing a building. All the attacks took place in Queens.

He faces up to 25 years if convicted. A message left with his lawyer was not immediately returned Saturday.

“I am so sorry for what happened,” Rhodes said as he was led out of a police station, the New York Post reported Saturday.