A cold-blooded robber who allegedly beat a food vendor with a metal pipe and stole $3,500 from a Hell's Kitchen cart was arrested Thursday and charged with two felonies, police said.
Jeffrey Vargas, 45, was arrested around noon and charged with second-degree assault in connection with the attack on a 36-year-old cart driver at West 49th Street and Eighth Avenue on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. He was charged with robbery and assault. Said.
Police said the worker suffered several broken teeth as a result of the vicious beating.
Police and sources said Vargas allegedly struck the worker in the face and body with “multiple objects,” including a pipe.
Police say the man stole $3,500 from the brutally assaulted worker and stormed into the nearby 50th Street subway station.
The victim was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and is listed in stable condition, authorities said.
Co-workers said Wednesday that the victim had only worked at Cart for three or four months and likely needed surgery.
An employee of a hot dog cart who lives about a block away from the scene of the assault said he typically closes his shop around 8 or 9 p.m. each night due to safety concerns.
“We are no longer open late at night because it’s not safe,” he said. “You never know who is going to hurt you or rob you.”
Vargas' bust was unveiled a day after the New York City Police Department released footage of him staring directly into a surveillance camera inside the 50th Street Station.
Officials say he has been arrested once for disorderly conduct since 2019.
Additional reporting by Joe Marino
