Post: #1

For the second time in the last week, a New York Knicks player finds themselves a victim of a foreseeable crime:

Quote:Three cars converged on an Uber cab carrying a New York Knicks forward, Cleanthony Early, home from a strip club in the predawn hours on Wednesday, the authorities said, with masked men jumping out and shooting him in the right knee before escaping with several necklaces and gold caps on his teeth.

Mr. Early, 24, an athletic forward who has seen little playing time this season, was in stable condition after emergency medical workers took him to Elmhurst Hospital Center after the shooting, around 4:30 a.m.

He was heading home from CityScapes Gentlemen’s Club with a girlfriend when three cars boxed in his cab and forced it to the side of the road about a mile from the club in Maspeth, Queens, the authorities said.

A group of men streamed out of the cars, with some of them wearing ski masks and two of them carrying small semiautomatic guns, the police said. They ordered Mr. Early out of the cab.

The men stole his cash, gold caps on his teeth, an iPhone and two yellow metal chains with medallions, the police said, and Mr. Early was shot in his right knee. The Uber driver’s identification card was also taken. The woman was unharmed; none of her belongings were stolen.

The police said no arrests had been made.

The coordinated attack was the second time in a matter of weeks that a young Knicks player has been robbed of jewelry after a late night out at a club.

On Dec. 19, Derrick Williams, a 24-year-old power forward for the Knicks, brought two women to his downtown Manhattan apartment around 5 a.m. The women spent about 90 minutes there before making off with about $617,000 worth of Mr. Williams’s belongings, including a Rolex, a diamond bracelet, a necklace and a Louis Vuitton bag, the police said.

The Knicks coach, Derek Fisher, said after that incident that the team did not set a curfew.

In a statement, the Knicks acknowledged the attack on Mr. Early.

“We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation,” the statement read. “We will not comment any further until we receive more information.”

Mr. Early, a native of Middletown, N.Y., in Orange County, was a late bloomer in basketball. He played two years at junior college before becoming a star at Wichita State University. In 2014, the Knicks selected him 34th overall in the N.B.A. draft.

As an athletic, 6-foot-8 forward, Mr. Early was seen as a promising project for the Knicks and a possible late steal in the draft. But he has failed in the last two seasons to find a regular role on the team, even as it struggled. Last season, he played in 39 games, averaging 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per contest.

Mr. Early’s playing time has been even less consistent this season. He has played just 10 games, averaging 0.7 points and 0.2 rebounds in 3.4 minutes per game. He was on the court for just 29 seconds in the Knicks’ victory on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. He played 6 seconds on Sunday in their game in Boston.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/31/nyregi...-news&_r=1

Post: #2

He was headed home with a girlfriend or a stripper?

She was untouched and they took none of her things. I wonder if it was an inside job considering she wasn't robbed. Seems fishy.

Post: #3

Def was a setup..I'm thinking the girl in the club.

AO beat me to it.

Post: #4

Three cars, six masked men armed with semiautomatics, everyone gets jacked except the chick?

Post: #5

(12-30-2015 02:43 PM)jariel Wrote:  Three cars, six masked men armed with semiautomatics, everyone gets jacked except the chick?

Yes on the red flag, but don't be bullshitted by the media.

Quote:two of them carrying small semiautomatic guns

Only 2 of the guys were armed. Also, a "small semiautomatic gun" is almost certainly a glock or other cheap handgun. Semiautomatic basically just means it loads the next round and cocks the gun when you fire it. Almost all handguns are semiautomatic. This is just the media trying to make a handgun sound more scary.

Post: #6

Even if they had taken her stuff too, I bet 5 she would have used her phone/ credit cards like a week later.

Police : I thought you were robbed too,how do you still have your phone ??

Post: #7

(12-30-2015 03:29 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote:  Only 2 of the guys were armed. Also, a "small semiautomatic gun" is almost certainly a glock or other cheap handgun. Semiautomatic basically just means it loads the next round and cocks the gun when you fire it. Almost all handguns are semiautomatic. This is just the media trying to make a handgun sound more scary.

Was about to say, probably just a standard pistol. Not like the masked men were robbing him with muskets or flintlock pistols.

Post: #8

Think the uber driver is gonna get popped at his home later on this week/month?

Post: #9

These guys need to realize they are marks now. This isn't the 80s were Michael Jordan made less than these scrubs.

Post: #10

Sounds like they robbed him and then knee-capped him for the sheer hell of it, likely ending his NBA career in the process (which was skating the edge this season to begin with). That's nasty.

I'm starting to think 2016 will be the year of violent and lethal honey traps.

Post: #11

The kneecap was malicious and I'm thinking it's more than a simple innocent robbery. How easy is it to take the gold caps off of your teeth though?!!

Post: #12

These dudes are messing with hood chicks. When you making that type of money, you don't want to have these hood sluts next to you, they will always bring you trouble.

Post: #13

It's not that expensive to buy an armored car or rent one. Shit, an armored suburban is going for 150K. When you think of all the Jewelry and cash he rolls with, buying one seems cheap in comparison and more like a good investment.

Yukon:
http://www.texcalibur.com/vehicles/suv/gmcyukon.html

Gwagen:
http://www.texcalibur.com/vehicles/suv/mercedesg55.html

SUVs
http://www.texcalibur.com/armoredsuv.html

Post: #14

Cattle, I think an armoured car is excessive. It's America not Beirut.

Post: #15

(12-30-2015 04:19 PM)Moma Wrote:  The kneecap was malicious and I'm thinking it's more than a simple innocent robbery. How easy is it to take the gold caps off of your teeth though?!!

Better question, how did they even know he had them?

Post: #16

(12-30-2015 04:40 PM)Moma Wrote:  Cattle, I think an armoured car is excessive. It's America not Beirut.

Depending on which American hood you're in, you might as well be in Beirut.

Post: #17

(12-30-2015 04:43 PM)jariel Wrote:  Better question, how did they even know he had them?

You can see them once one opens their mouth.

Post: #18

(12-30-2015 03:57 PM)spokepoker Wrote:  Think the uber driver is gonna get popped at his home later on this week/month?

They probably took his ID to stop him from testifying.

If he does try and testify they know who he is and where he lives.

Post: #19

(12-30-2015 05:37 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

(12-30-2015 03:57 PM)spokepoker Wrote:  Think the uber driver is gonna get popped at his home later on this week/month?

They probably took his ID to stop him from testifying.

If he does try and testify they know who he is and where he lives.

What is he going to testify to? He would have seen as much as Early and his strip club lizard.

Post: #20

I bet the girl provided location through her phone with a gps app. 3 cars coordinating a robbery isn't the easiest thing to do. It sounds personal as well otherwise why would they kneecap him. He probably mouthed off to some people at the club and got set up.

Post: #21

(12-30-2015 04:40 PM)Moma Wrote:  Cattle, I think an armoured car is excessive. It's America not Beirut.

The doors are seal shut and not as easy to open, and if you were to drive off the thugs would shoot you...which would make the 22mm windows quite handy.

Then you can activate the smoke feature and get away.

Shit, if you're carrying that much in ice and cash.....it's a form of insurance when on the road.

Post: #22

(12-30-2015 06:07 PM)El Chinito loco Wrote:  I bet the girl provided location through her phone with a gps app. 3 cars coordinating a robbery isn't the easiest thing to do. It sounds personal as well otherwise why would they kneecap him. He probably mouthed off to some people at the club and got set up.

More likely they had someone watching him at the club and the spotter guided the cars in as he exited in the Uber. This looks like a gang hit, from all accounts.

Post: #23

(12-30-2015 04:32 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  It's not that expensive to buy an armored car or rent one. Shit, an armored suburban is going for 150K. When you think of all the Jewelry and cash he rolls with, buying one seems cheap in comparison and more like a good investment.

Yukon:
http://www.texcalibur.com/vehicles/suv/gmcyukon.html

Gwagen:
http://www.texcalibur.com/vehicles/suv/mercedesg55.html

SUVs
http://www.texcalibur.com/armoredsuv.html

Good business opportunity. VIP protective Uber service for high rollers. Only hire drivers with background check and who have some experience in security.

Post: #24

Any small town dude like this cat rocking a grill will get got by any thugs in NYC. They live for that kind of shit. Dudes up there are grimey and just might shoot you for good measure for thinking you could come through flossin like that.

Considering he is from a small town of NY, you would think he would know better, but like that other guy he grew up too soft to not have guards or his own ride. Not to mention walking around with all that ice as if he is safe.

Post: #25

(12-30-2015 03:44 PM)Remington Wrote:  

(12-30-2015 03:29 PM)AneroidOcean Wrote:  Only 2 of the guys were armed. Also, a "small semiautomatic gun" is almost certainly a glock or other cheap handgun. Semiautomatic basically just means it loads the next round and cocks the gun when you fire it. Almost all handguns are semiautomatic. This is just the media trying to make a handgun sound more scary.

Was about to say, probably just a standard pistol. Not like the masked men were robbing him with muskets or flintlock pistols.