Game Over for 6 Boys in GTA Crime Spree

It’s a known fact in the gaming world that Liberty City, the fictional “sandbox” city of the widely popular Grand Theft Auto (GTA) video game series, was based heavily on the city of New York. Just this past Thursday, six teens were arrested in Long Island, NY for pulling a GTA-like crime spree around the city.

Their first victim, a woman, immediately called the Nassau County police late Wednesday night after her harrowing experience. According to her statement, she was robbed by a group of young teens near New Hyde Park Road and Stewart Avenue, where apparently the group had formed a human roadblock. The robbers donned crowbars, broomsticks and baseball bats (in true GTA style). The boys surrounded the woman’s BMW as if they were going to carjack her vehicle, and then forced her to give up whatever cash she had. Thankfully, the woman was able to drive away. The boys only got her cigarettes.

This previous encounter was a normal scene in GTA IV. Liberty City, much like New York, is an enormous place. To get around quicker, Niko Bellic, the games’ lead character, drives cars (most of the time, but he can also use choppers and boats) to his destinations. But he doesn’t have to own any of these modes of transportation. Part of GTA IV’s gameplay is carjacking. Stealing cars is so basic in the game that getting a car can be done with one button. With one tap of that button, Nico enters a vehicle and just drives away. If there happens to be a passenger, then they are forcibly pulled out. The player can throw in a punch or two for good measure – just to make sure the passenger doesn’t attempt to take back the vehicle.

The Nassau County police arrived at the scene early Thursday, just past midnight. Fortunately, the robbers were still in the area. Apparently one victim was not enough. This time the boys were attempting to rob a man on board another vehicle. As the police went after the robbers, the driver of the vehicle got out and grabbed one of the boys. After a brief chase a total of six teens were arrested by 1:45 a.m. The man’s van was smashed all over.

Police officer Sgt. James Bartkowski told ABC News that the boys claimed to be “emulating the character and scenes” from the popular video game “Grand Theft Auto.”
The six arrested boys are: Jaspreet Singh, 17, Samuel Philip, 16, and Stephen Attard (pictured above), 18, all from New Hyde Park Memorial High School in NY. Another one name Dylan Laird, 17, was in NY from Southborough, Massachusetts visiting a friend. The other two charged were Jaspreet’s younger brother Gurnoor Singh, 14 and Brandon Cruz, 15.

The GTA creators over at Rockstar Games released a statement regarding the incident:

“Events such as these are troubling to all concerned citizens. It would be wrong, however, to link unfortunate incidents like these with any kind of entertainment products. Individuals who commit crimes need to be held accountable for their actions.”

We have to agree. We can’t use violent video games or other form of pop media as scapegoats. Even if the crime committed was almost identical, we can’t point our finger on a single cause. What about the parents of these kids? Shouldn’t they be held liable for letting their kids out this late? Or for letting their kids play these violent videogames?

“They decided they were going to go out to commit robberies and emulate the [lead] character Niko Bellic in the particularly violent video game Grand Theft Auto,” said Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Raymond Coté. “These teens have difficulty separating fact from fiction, fantasy from reality… It was quite alarming.”

Sgt. Bartkowski added that further investigation led to the revelation of another previous robbery. He said that the boys admitted that they “jumped a guy, stole his money and knocked his teeth out.”

The group attacked the man near a New Hyde Park supermarket. He had just finished an evening shift and was waiting for a bus home.

“They approach him from behind, force him to the ground, start punching him, kicking him, knocking the teeth out of his head and take what he has on him,” Coté said.

They stole a small amount of cash and a cell phone then they went and ransacked a nearby shed. That’s where they got the sticks and crowbars that they used for the next robberies. Sgt. Bartkowski believes that there are possibly more victims out there in what the police department calls as a “spree of violence, mischief and damage.”

We think it’s easy to point to the game as the reason why these kids committed this “crime spree.” But if they were properly guided by their parents this surely would have been avoided. Remember, these are just boys. They should be playing around. They should be enjoying stuff with their peers. But not like this. Sadly, they have been misguided.

The teens were charged as adults with robbery in the first degree. All have pleaded not guilty. Laird, Attard and Philip were ordered held on $100,000 bond, or $50,000 bail. Cruz and Gurnoor Singh were ordered held on $150,000 bond, or $75,000 cash. Jaspreet Singh was charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of stolen property and has yet to be arraigned.

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