Manhattan Subway Slasher Arrested 5 Times During 2-Week Crime Spree

A Queens man spent a terrifying two weeks on a wild and escalating crime spree in which he was in and out of custody — culminating with him choking and stabbing a subway straphanger and raping a woman in Baltimore, court papers charge.

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Subhan Zaib, 26, was arrested and released for five separate incidents in the city between May 30 and June 7. {snip}

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One of his alleged victims, neighbor Johann Poveda, recalled the constant anxiety that came with living in the same building as Zaib.

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The mayhem began on May 30 when Zaib called the home of an ex-girlfriend in Queens between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. and reached the woman’s father. {snip}

“I’m coming over to get the money and if you don’t give it to me, I’m going to kill her and your family,” Zaib said during the call, according to a complaint.

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He was charged with aggravated harassment and released on “non-monetary conditions,” the Queens District Attorney’s office said.

Just two days later, Zaib used a knife to cut the wires of two surveillance cameras on Poveda’s apartment in Richmond Hill, according to a complaint. He also ripped Poveda’s Ring doorbell camera out of a wall, according to police.

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Just 10 minutes after the cameras were cut — and only a block away — Zaib got into an argument with a man on 108th St. and Atlantic Ave., according to another criminal complaint. Zaib pulled a knife on the man and waved it at him, according to prosecutors.

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The cases were charged separately in court. Zaib was charged with criminal mischief for the cameras and again released without bail. He was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, trespassing and harassment for allegedly brandishing the knife. He was also released without bail in that case.

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On June 4, Zaib’s one-man-crime-wave reached Brooklyn, where he is accused of punching a woman in the face, hitting her with a belt, choking her and threatening her with a knife {snip}

Despite the violent nature of the allegations and bail-eligible charges of second-degree assault, strangulation and other charges, Brooklyn prosecutors did not seek bail due to issues with the victim, a law enforcement source said. {snip}

Zaib’s lucky break spelled disaster for churchgoers at The Rock Church in Maspeth, Queens.

Three days after the Brooklyn beating, Zaib snuck into a women’s bathroom at the church around 9:30 p.m., where he accosted a volunteer, a criminal complaint shows.

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He then turned off the lights, grabbed the woman by the shoulders and pinned her against a wall, prosecutors say. She was able to break free and flee the bathroom, prosecutors said.

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Zaib was charged with attempted assault in the second degree and other charges. He was once again released because none of the charges were bail eligible.

Three days after the church incident Zaib allegedly stabbed the straphanger, cops said. {snip}

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