NYC pickpocket with over 60 arrests released: Police

A pickpocket who is on the New York Police Department’s list of repeat subway offenders is free after another suspected crime, authorities said.

Darin Mickens, who has been arrested more than 60 times, is accused of stalking a woman in March as she walked with her daughter along Grand Street near Elizabeth Street. He allegedly “ripped open” her purse and ripped out her wallet, according to a criminal complaint.

According to authorities, police were able to identify Mickens using surveillance footage from the area and arrested him on May 13.

As in dozens of other cases, Mickens, 56, who was listed in the NYPD’s “Nifty 50” card game of the city’s most recidivist subway criminals, was back on the loose in no time.

On June 25, he pleaded not guilty to three counts of grand larceny and was released on supervised release by Alvin Bragg, a lenient Manhattan district attorney.

And critics said there would be no end to the catch-and-release cycle until the law changed.

“This guy added 60 numbers to your list (of crimes in the city), and now he’s doing it again,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

“Some people will say he is not dangerous. These crimes can turn into violent crimes in a matter of seconds.”

Mickens and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment.