Stranger snatches cell phone from woman in Central Park, tosses it into Swan Lake

A stranger snatched a cell phone from a woman visiting Central Park and chucked it into Swan Lake in a bizarre unprovoked act of aggression, as cops assured the public that despite a jump in crime parkgoers “should feel safe,” police said Tuesday.

The 35-year-old tourist was in the park walking past the lake when the man stormed up to her at about 11:30 a.m. Monday, grabbed her phone and threw it in the lake, witnesses told police.

The assailant ran off, but responding cops found him in the park and took him into custody.

Fontaine Moise, 42, was charged with criminal mischief and ordered released without bail during his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, according to court records.

Capt. Anthony Lavino of the Central Park Precinct said officers were able to grab Moise quickly because another parkgoer immediately called 911 when he witnessed the crime.

As of Tuesday, cops had investigated 18 robberies in Central Park this year, cops said. By this time last year there were just four. Nonviolent thefts of cell phones, pricey headphones and other electronics are also up, from eight incidents by this time last year to 12 so far this year.

Over the weekend, three muggings took place within a 27-hour span inside the park.

Speaking at the northern end of the park near Fifth Ave. and E. 110th St. Tuesday NYPD, Assistant Chief Jason Savino said that one of the weekend robberies was part of a larger pattern in both Queens and Manhattan where crooks use scooters and mopeds in their getaway. In the weekend Central Park incident, three men with a gun beat and robbed a tourist of two cell phones as the victim took pictures.

Meanwhile, cops early Tuesday busted an ex-con for a “sexually motivated robbery” in the iconic greenspace, Savino said.

Kevin Taylor, who was paroled last September after serving five-and-a-half years in state prison for a Bronx assault conviction, was arrested at his Bronx apartment.

Taylor, 35, last Thursday evening allegedly attacked a 28-year-old woman and robbed her of her cell phone inside the park at W. 97th St.

“He approached [the woman], grabbed her by the arm and said essentially, ‘I’m going to take sex, I’m going to take your money and I’m going to take your phone,'” Savino said.

Taylor punched his victim in the face. She fell to the ground and on purpose curled up, tucking her bag against her body to stop Taylor from grabbing it or trying to take off her clothes, cops said.

Taylor ran off but was ultimately tracked down by the NYPD special victims squad, Savino said.

“They called us up this morning with those three little words we want to hear: ‘We got him,'” Savino said.

Charges against Taylor were pending Tuesday.

NYPD Assistant Chief Ruel Stephenson, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Manhattan North, said more officers have been deployed.

“We’ve increased significantly the number of police officers assigned inside Central Park and extended the deployment outside Central Park,” Stephenson said. “On any given day a parkgoer will see additional police officers inside the park.”

The department will also be adding more cameras to the park and will bring members of the NYPD’s auxiliary force — uniformed volunteers who do not carry firearms — into the park on weekends when the park is busiest, Stephenson said.

“Rest assured a potential parkgoer should feel safe,” he said.

NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said the park-going public could be a big help in fighting crime in one of the city’s biggest relaxation destinations.

“We want to bring the message to the community that we need your help with public safety,” Maddrey said. “We’re asking anyone who sees anything while enjoying the park, when you are out here with your family, to not hesitate and call 911.”