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Grand Theft Auto IV-Imitating Teens Arrested
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 27, 2008
Modified Jun 27, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 27, 2008
Modified Jun 27, 2008
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Pictured, from left to right: Samuel Philip; Dylaid Laird; Jaspreet Singh; Stephen Attard (Brandon Cruz's and Gurmoor Singh's mug shots were not released due to their age)
Six teenagers, ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old, were arrested yesterday for mugging, attacking, attempting to carjack, and overall menacing in Nassau County. And the police say they were inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV.
Newsday reports that police have found three victims--a supermarket employee who was severely beaten (his teeth were knocked out), a woman they tried to carjack, and a man whose car was bashed in--and believe there may be more. They also broke into garages to steal bats and crowbars. Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Raymond Cote said, "They decided they were going to go out to commit robberies and emulate the [lead] character Nico Belic in the particularly violent video game 'Grand Theft Auto.' These teens have difficulty separating fact from fiction, fantasy from reality... It was quite alarming."
Initially, there were four teens who attacked and robbed the supermarket employee. They were going to attack a group of teens, but then realized they were school classmates so they invited them to join in. The suspects are: Dylan Laird, 17; Stephen Attard, 18; Samuel Philip, 16; Brandon Cruz, 15; Gurnoor Singh, 14; and Jaspreet Singh, 17. Jaspreet signed was charged with possession of stolen property while the others were charged with first-degree robbery.
Tagged
assault
crime
grand theft auto
Grand Theft Auto IV
long island
robbery
teens
video game
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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