New York Post

NAILED BY YOUTUBE

Comedy vids ID stalk susp

- By BEN FEUERHERD, KHRISTINA NARIZHNAYA and AARON FEIS Additional reporting by Tina Moore, Kevin Sheehan,Larry Celona

A man who was caught on video stalking and attacking a mayoral intern outside her Queens home is a stand-up comic wannabe — done in by tipsters who recognized him from his YouTube clips, authoritie­s said Sunday.

Christophe­r Prusa, 34 — who has performed at Caroline’s on Broadway in Midtown — tried to strike up a conversati­on with the 21-year-old woman a few blocks from her Woodside home around 3:50 a.m. Friday, cops said.

“Hey, can I talk to you?” he asked, according to court documents.

The woman said she ignored Prusa and kept walking home, but as she was unlocking the door to her apartment building, “she looked behind her shoulder’’ and Prusa was suddenly there and allegedly grabbed her arm.

As Prusa urged the terrified woman to “chill out,” she fought him off and ran to safety, according to court papers.

Investigat­ors released surveillan­ce video of the harrowing incident and callers soon reached out to CrimeStopp­ers saying they recognized the suspect as Prusa from his Web videos, police sources said.

Detectives learned that Prusa was trying to sell his used Hyundai, and set up a meeting with him under the guise of being prospectiv­e buyers, according to sources.

When the aspiring stand-up arrived for the meet-up Saturday evening, cops moved in to make the bust, sources said.

Prusa was initially arrested on charges including attempted rape and sexual abuse, but prosecutor­s at his Sunday morning arraignmen­t ended up charging him with stalking, attempted assault and harassment.

He was also charged with possession of cocaine and pot. Authoritie­s said they found three plastic baggies with coke inside, one with marijuana and a pot pipe in the center console of the Hyundai he was trying to sell.

Prusa, who was busted in Florida for alleged DWI in 2011, was remanded to Rikers Island in lieu of $2,500 cash bail or $5,000 bond.

His last listed address is in Port St. Lucie, Fla., but social-media accounts indicate that he has been living in New York City for about a year.

Those accounts list him as a home-furnishing­s consultant at a south Brooklyn Raymour & Flani- gan and a former public-school teacher in Port St. Lucie.

They also include photos of Prusa performing stand-up in various venues, including at Caroline’s.

He has also auditioned for TV’s “America’s Got Talent,’’ according to his Facebook account.

The victim — whose name is being withheld by The Post because of the nature of the crime — was identified by police sources as an intern in Mayor de Blasio’s office.

She told The Post on Sunday that she found little comfort in knowing that her alleged assailant is off the street.

“I just want it to be over. I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. “I feel very uncomforta­ble with everything that happened.”

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? NOT FUNNY: Christophe­r Prusa (left in a 2011 mugshot) was arrested in this caught-on-camera assault of a woman in Queens after tipsters recognized him from stand-up comedy clips on YouTube.
NOT FUNNY: Christophe­r Prusa (left in a 2011 mugshot) was arrested in this caught-on-camera assault of a woman in Queens after tipsters recognized him from stand-up comedy clips on YouTube.
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States