Two Rocklanders Accused In Brutal Beating, Carjacking In New City

NEW CITY, NY — Two Rockland residents face federal charges connected to a brutal beating and robbery in New City after a weeklong investigation by the Clarkstown Police Department and the FBI.

"As alleged, Dwayne Hicks and Tnaiya Williams took part in a brazen and brutal carjacking, inflicting grievous bodily injuries to the victim and leaving him for dead," U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in the arrest announcement. "Thanks to the FBI and the Clarkstown Police, Hicks and Williams are in custody and facing justice in federal court."

Strauss, Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Clarkstown Police Chief Raymond McCullagh made the announcement Monday.

Prosecutors said on Feb. 28 Hicks lured a victim to a certain residence in New City and she and other assailants including Williams viciously attacked him. They forced the victim to strip naked, stole his personal belongings, including the keys to his car, and then beat him with a baseball bat, belts, and their hands, and repeatedly slashed and stabbed him with a large knife. Some of the assailants drove off in his car, prosecutors said.

The victim ultimately fled, after being left, naked and covered in blood, in a pile of snow. SEE: Man Assaulted In New City; Police Asking For Info

"This heinous crime was not perpetrated on just one victim alone, it affected our entire community," McCullagh said. "Though these types of crimes are thankfully uncommon in Clarkstown, the men and women of the Clarkstown Police Department were able to swiftly find justice for the victim and allay the concerns of the community. We would like to thank District Attorney Thomas Walsh of the RCDA, FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District for their partnership in this investigation."

Hicks, 27, of Spring Valley, and Williams, 26, of New City, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit carjacking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of carjacking, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Hicks and Williams were arrested Saturday and were scheduled to be presented before United States Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause in White Plains federal court on Monday.

"We will now push forward with an aggressive prosecution of the crimes alleged to bring closure to the victim of this violent attack," Walsh said.

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Derek Wikstrom and T. Josiah Pertz are in charge of the prosecution.