By JAMIE SCHRAM and ANDY GELLER
May 28, 2008
A hulking mugger who struck twice in five hours was busted yesterday when he picked on the wrong man - a 6-footer who fought back with his fists because "it's very hard to scare me," police sources said.
The victim, David Breksa, 39, was slammed in the ear and bitten on the chest by his attacker, Larry Benekin, 35, who allegedly tried to smash a cobblestone over his head - after smashing another man with a rock five hours earlier.
"I turn around to defend myself," Breksa said. "He comes at me and I punched him in the chest. He goes backward and leans down and picks up a big friggin' rock. It was a good 20-pounder. It was one of those big cobblestones. That rock is big enough to kill somebody."
But Breksa, of East Harlem, tackled Benekin and they went at it at 109th Street and Central Park West at 1:15 a.m.
The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Benekin managed to grab Breksa's cellphone and run off, but Breksa chased him and hailed some passing cops, who collared the mugger and petty thief, the sources said.
Benekin was charged with assault and robbery.
