Two teenage girls wanted over a brutal beating that killed a New York City cab driver were arrested on Monday.
The girls – aged 13 and 15 – were charged with gang assault and theft of services. Neither was named because of their ages.
A third girl, believed to be 16 years old, is still at large.
The girls allegedly helped two men, Austin Amos, 20, and Nickolas Porter, 20, beat-up 52-year-old Kutin Gyimah after they jumped out of his cab without paying on August 13. Gyimah, a father-of-four, had chased the group down before they attacked him.
Amos and Porter were both charged with gang assault and theft charges over the killing. Amos was also handed a manslaughter charge.
Horrific footage of the attack showed Gyimah fall backwards and smash his head on the ground after being smacked in the face.
The five suspects were caught on security cameras strolling away from the scene, smiling to themselves as they left the cab driver sprawled on the ground.
The victim suffered severe head trauma during the violent exchange and later succumbed to his injuries in a local hospital.
The three girls were seen smiling as they walked away from the attack. Two have since been arrested and charged, cops say
Video shows five youths, including three teenage girls, surrounding father-of-four Kutin Gyimah, 52, before they began punching and kicking him
One of two men charged in connection with the death of a New York city taxi driver is seen being walked out of the 101st precinct
The second of two suspects is seen being marched out of the NYPD’s 101st Precinct
‘He was a good, good man. He was my backbone. I’m lost right now. My children’s hero,’ Gyimah’s wife Abigail Barwuah (pictured together), who could not hold back her tears, said
Police identified Austin Amos, 20, of Queens, as one of the suspects wanted in connection with Gyimah’s murder. He is now in custody, along with another 20-year-old man. Three teenage girls aged between 13 and 16 are also wanted by police
Amos and Porter turned themselves in at the 101st Precinct last week after a plea for information was put out by the NYPD.
Amos has six prior arrests, including robbery, criminal mischief, criminal contempt and sexual misconduct.
The 20-year-old was accompanied by his mother when he handed himself in to cops at the precinct on Wednesday night.
The newly released video shows Gyimah being attacked by five passengers, who investigators said refused to pay their fare and tried to rob him in Far Rockaway early on Saturday morning.
The footage shows how each of the five appeared to take turns striking the man who was powerless to defend himself.
He was seen raising his arms to protect himself from the brutal ambush near Beach 54th Street and Arverne Boulevard, as the group continued their onslaught.
When Gyimah was able to get back his feet, one of the men whacked him in the head, sending him flying to the ground.
The five suspects then fled the scene, leaving Gyimah lying on the sidewalk motionless.
Following the attack the suspects could all be seen smiling on camera as they walked away and headed inside a residential building.
Both suspects turned themselves in on Wednesday night to the police
The suspect was placed into a waiting patrol car outside the 101st Precinct on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens
The suspect was walked to a waiting police car with his hands in cuffs
One of the suspects is seen walking out of the NYPD’s car
One of the two male suspects that had been arrested is seen being placed into a patrol car
Gyimah had fallen to the ground and hit his head, causing severe head trauma. He was rushed to St. John’s Hospital, where he later died.
New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers had offered a $15,000 reward for information that would lead to an arrest following the order.
Gyimah’s wife Abigail Barwuah said she was ‘lost without him’ and that he had left behind four children aged eight, seven, five and three.
She told CBS2: ‘I don’t know what to do right now. I have lost. I have lost. He was a good, good man. He was my backbone. I’m lost right now. My children’s hero.
‘He was everything we had. He was my children’s hero. He was my backbone. He was the one I looked up to. I look up to God, but aside [from] God, he was the only one I looked up to.’
The two men who were allegedly involved have been arrested by the NYPD. The remaining three girls are now being hunted
The driver, seen in red, was completely powerless to defend himself during the attack
One male suspect is seen delivering a fatal blow to his head that sent Gyimah to the ground
Surveillance footage sees the suspects laughing and smiling amongst themselves
The five suspects run away from the scene, leaving Gyimah, who suffered a fatal head injury, lying on the sidewalk motionless
A GoFundMe page has been launched for her and her children and more than $109,600 had been raised as of Thursday night.
The money will be used to fund his funeral but also support the family’s living expenses and the children’s education.
One of Gyimah’s colleagues wrote on the page: ‘He was one of our cab drivers who worked honestly and tirelessly to support his family.
‘All through the worst days of the pandemic he was one of the few who still drove a cab continuously to provide support for our city and its citizens. Please help honor him, his work from him and help his family from him.’
They added on the page: ‘He was a husband and a father of 4 children ages 8, 7, 5 and 3. He will not be coming home anymore.’
It comes as yellow taxi drivers in New York are facing the burden of debt and bankruptcy after investing in taxi medallions – but fail to make substantial profits worth the price of their license certificate.
Thousands of drivers are on the brink of financial ruin, with the average debt owed on medallions by taxi drivers reaching $600,000, according to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
The overwhelming demand for other app-based services like Uber, Lyft and Via in the capital city have also put pressure on yellow taxi drivers, driving up competition.
Some of the teenage girls were pictured walking into a nearby apartment building
The three teen girls should be relatively easy to identify given their distinct hair colorings
Video shows the suspects later walking up the stairs of an apartment block.
Video shows the suspects later walking along a corridor of an apartment block
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism