by A man has been arrested after being accused of raping a 13-year-old girl after Queens residents recognized him from a wanted poster, who held him there.
Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, 25, is facing a series of charges after being taken into custody by authorities, including rape, robbery, kidnapping, sexual abuse, threatening, unlawful imprisonment, among other charges.
The suspect was arrested early Tuesday after members of the local community identified the man from an NYPD tip-off.
Angela Sauretti, 23 years old, told The everyday beast that she was at the 108th Street Grocery in Queens at 1am on Tuesday with a friend when she recognized the man in a black hoodie.
“I pointed him out,” Sauretti told the outlet. “I’m like, ‘Yo, that’s it?’ [The friend] said, ‘Yes, that’s it.’ That’s what confirmed it. And everything just spiraled from there.”
After that, Sauretti said she then grabbed the man in the hood. “He tried to run, so I put him in a headlock,” she said The everyday beast.
“He found something his mother should have done for him,” she said. “I’ll put it that way.”
Inga-Landi became a suspect for the NYPD after detectives learned that a 13-year-old boy and girl were threatened with a machete-style knife after school last Thursday in Kissena Park, reports CBS.
It is alleged that the young teenager had her wrists tied with shoelaces before the girl was sexually assaulted.
While Inga-Landi was arrested on Tuesday, Sauretti also explained that the man was still resisting and protesting.
“He said, ‘Let me explain!’ I’m like, ‘There’s nothing to explain. You’re a rapist,'” she said to the store, “I don’t care.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean you don’t care? You’re a rapist.’ He said, ‘I don’t care.'”
A group of other residents were reportedly involved in the arrest of the man, such as a 67-year-old woman kicking Inga-Landi and removing one of her shoes to hit him with, the outlet reported.
Jeffery Flores also told CBS News he was among those who stopped the man from going anywhere after seeing him early on Tuesday morning.
“I will come and grab him right after he left the store because of that situation I went mad, you know?” Flores told the outlet. “I got two little sisters. I’m about to have a daughter, you know? I couldn’t, you know, walk away.
“After that, don’t lie to me, everyone just started hitting him,” Flores added, adding that they used a belt to tie his legs up.
Inga-Landi fought to get away, losing her shirt and hoodie in the process, and managed to crawl under a car.
“Like a cat,” Sauretti said The Daily Beast, before NYPD officers arrived at the scene to arrest the man.
Sauretti told the outlet that detectives told those who arrested the man that they had made a citizen’s arrest.
“We found that the public was holding our perp,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
“At the time, the community wanted to hold the perpetrator, waiting for the police, he fought with them, and the community still managed to hold him until we got there.”
“I especially want to thank New Yorkers. There is no greater force multiplier than the eyes and ears of the public who are fully engaged,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban also said.
“This is exactly what we mean when we say that public safety is a public responsibility and the past few days have proven once again that the people of the city can come together and get a job like no one else.”
The NYPD offered a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the suspect’s arrest, but Sauretti said the money had no influence on her helping police find the accused rapist.
“I would do it even if it wasn’t rewarding because, at the end of the day, I feel like it’s the right thing to do,” she said. The everyday beast.
The suspect was treated at Elmhurst Hospital for minor injuries before being transported to the 112th Precinct.
After the attack in Kissena Park last week, the man allegedly took the teenager’s phones but left behind his shoelace, red bandana, and water bottle, all of which are being analyzed by authorities, according to CBS.
The NYPD said Inga-Landi is an Ecuadorian father of two who crossed the border into Texas about three years ago.
He was arrested at the time for illegal entry into the United States but was released pending processing.
“The offender has made statements, after waiving his Miranda rights, where he has indicated that he has a drug problem, that he got the knife he used to threaten the two teenagers, it was the first time he had ever done anything like this,” Kenny said.
Rape Crisis offers support to those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn at 800-656-HOPE (4673)
