WHITE PLAINS, NY — Tayquan Tucker, a man arrested in 2018 at New Rochelle High School and sentenced to 7 years in prison earned his GED while incarcerated, according to a report by Matthew Russell Lee writing for Inner City Press.
Tucker was arrested following a police chase involving him and three other men which ended with four men fleeing a car crash onto the grounds of New Rochelle High School where he and the others were apprehended.
The four men are suspected of robbing EZ Mobile and Computers located at 4 South Division Street in downtown New Rochelle at about 2:30 p.m. All four, including Tucker, 20-years-old at the time, were charged with Robbery in the First Degree, a Class B Felony, a violent crime punishable by no less than five years and a maximum of twenty-five years in state prison.
Tucker, sentenced in 2018 to 84 months in prison, was back in court recently, this time in front of a Federal judge.
On December 3, he appeared again before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Alison J. Nathan, to be re-sentenced in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in US v. Davis.
Judge Nathan asked the standard questions, including about education. Tucker said he got his GED. Judge Nathan asked, While in custody?
When Tucker said yes, she congratulated him and said it made her happy.
At issue in Davis is whether the crime for which Tucker was convinced qualifies as a “crime of violence”.
At the time of Tucker’s arrest, Talk of the Sound reported on the dramatic car chase:
New Rochelle police arrested four suspects this afternoon in an armed robbery in downtown New Rochelle that resulted in a 2-mile police chase that ended a block short of New Rochelle High School minutes before school was due to be let out for the day.
When the vehicle entered Clove Road at Mayflower near Holy Family Church, police pursued the vehicle onto Clove Road while another police car drove in the opposite direction on Clove Road from Eastchester Road and crashed into the suspect’s vehicle, disabling it. The four suspects existed the vehicle and fled on foot down Clove Road towards Eastchester Road and then crossing Eastchester Road heading towards the high school,
New Rochelle Police Captain Robert Gazzola said police officers captured the 4 suspects in the area near the teacher’s parking lot on Clove Road. One weapon, possibly a handgun, was recovered on the scene.
One police officer sustained minor injuries in the vehicle collision on Clove Road, another while in foot pursuit.
At the direction of New Rochelle police, the high school was put on lockdown and students kept in the building until 3:30 p.m.
Gazzola praised the response of school officials.
Gazzola said detectives were investigating a possible connection to a similar daylight armed robbery of an AT&T store in downtown Pelham, one town over. That incident occurred at about 11:15 a.m. where three men, one armed with what appeared to be a handgun, displayed a weapon and stole $500 in cash and several cellphones.
UPDATE: NRPD PRESS STATEMENT
On February 2, 2016, at approximately 2:40 p.m. the New Rochelle Police Department received a call that the “EZ Mobile” located at 4 Division St., had been robbed at gunpoint by four male blacks who fled the area on foot. Responding officers were advised by a citizen that persons matching the description provided by the victim had entered an older model four-door green Toyota which was parked nearby. Officers canvassing the area observed an occupied vehicle matching the description driving in the downtown area of New Rochelle and attempted to stop it. The vehicle failed to stop for the police, and a pursuit ensued. An officer on patrol at Clove Rd and Eastchester Rd observed the suspect vehicle and attempted to stop it. The suspect vehicle struck the officer’s patrol car and the occupants fled from the car on foot. That officer sustained non-life threatening injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Other officers pursued the suspects through several backyards on Clove Rd and were able to apprehend all four suspects in the vicinity of New Rochelle High School. The suspects are currently in custody at the New Rochelle Police Department, charges are pending the conclusion of the investigation.
New Rochelle High School security was alerted to the pursuit, and a “lock-out” was conducted while the Police Department secured all of the suspects. The incident did cause a minor delay in dismissal, but the school was not entered by the suspects or police during the chase.
This investigation is ongoing, and no further information is available at this time. Anyone who may have witnessed or has information relative to the investigation is urged to call the New Rochelle Police Department’s General Investigations Unit 914-654-2300.
John D’Alois contributed to this report, and provided photographs.
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