Maniac Who Punched Senior at UES Apple Store Arrested; Patricide in Rangel Houses
An assault by a stranger and a stabbing closer to home.
| 11 Aug 2025 | 01:01
Left: Lewis D. Reynolds, arrested for elder assault. Right: Lamont “Tip Dawg” Thornton, allegedly murdered by his son. (
)
Unhinged and unhoused, a man suspected of socking a 94-year-old senior citizen in the face at an Upper East Side Apple Store has been arrested.
Details of the incident, which cops classified as elder assault and occurred within the confines of the 19th Precinct, are as follows:
Inside the Apple Store at 940 Madison Ave., at the corner of 76th Street, a 94-year-old male victim was approached by an unidentified individual on Aug. 5 at around 5:46pm.
The individual punched the victim in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and sustain minor injuries. The unidentified individual fled the location on foot, traveling northbound on Madison Avenue.
Less than two and a half days later, on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, at 12:10am, 19th Precinct cops arrested Lewis D. Reynolds, 31, address “undomiciled,” and charged him with assault.
According to Department of Correction records, Reynolds is being held at Rikers Island on $8,000 bail and his next scheduled court date was scheduled to be held on Aug. 13.
Street Basketball Legend Stabbed, Dies of Injuries 10 Days Later
A recent stabbing in a NYCHA housing project has been become a murder case, following the Aug. 1 death of the victim, subsequently identified as playground basketball legend Lamont “Tip Dawg” Thornton.
on Monday, July 21, 2025, at 1:31am, within the confines of the 32nd Precinct: Lamont Oliphant, 24-year-old male, of 159-14 Harlem River Drive. Oliphant, it was reported, is Thornton’s son.
The 58-year-old victim initially sustained a stab wound to the neck on Sunday, July 20, at 11:44pm at 159-14 Harlem River Dr., a NYCHA complex known as the Rangel Houses, within the confines of the 32nd Precinct. EMS responded and transported the male to NYC Health and Hospitals/Harlem, where at the time he was listed in critical but stable condition.
The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has deemed this incident a homicide.
Arrested on Monday, July 21, within the confines of the 32nd Precinct was Lamont Oliphant, 24-year-old male, also of 159-14 Harlem River Dr. Oliphant, it was reported, is Thornton’s son.
Oliphant is facing charges of attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. He is being held without bail on Rikers Island.
Rangel Houses are named for Ralph Rangel (1923-1975), a Central Harlem community worker who was the brother of the late legendary Democratic congressman from Harlem Charles Rangel.
A GoFundMe has been established to cover the expenses of “Tip Dawg” ’ s funeral.