Alleged Subway Brake Bandit Hit With Train-Surfing Charge

NEW YORK — The alleged brake bandit is back. The Brooklyn man accused of intentionally yanking a subway brake this spring was caught surfing on an uptown train last week, court records show.

Surveillance video showed Isaiah Thompson, 23, riding on the outside of a northbound 5 train as it left the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station on the evening of July 31, according to a complaint in Manhattan criminal court.

The Clinton Hill resident was arrested Friday and charged with criminal trespass and riding in a restricted area, court records show. He was released without bail at his Saturday arraignment and is due back in court Aug 14, said Casey Murphy, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Thompson's arrest last week was reportedly the latest chapter in the straphanger's long history of alleged subway crimes. He has been arrested 17 times for crimes involving the transit system, according to The New York Times.

Thompson was charged in May with pulling the emergency brake on an uptown 2 train during an evening rush hour, stranding commuters and disrupting subway service.

He was cuffed as transit officials searched for a saboteur who had been intentionally stopping trains around the city.

Thompson's Legal Aid Society attorney, Amanda Bradley, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.