A cluster of 63 repeat offenders has accumulated more than 5,000 career arrests tied to New York City’s transit system, yet only five of those individuals are currently in custody, law-enforcement officials and court records show.
NYPD statistics show that transit crimes across the five boroughs have declined, but officers and prosecutors say a small number of prolific offenders continues to fuel the perception of disorder underground. The population of repeat arrestees has amassed records for alleged offenses that include robbery, assault, theft, turnstile-jumping and sex-related misconduct.
Citywide transit crime was down 3.8 percent in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period in 2024 and down nearly 6 percent over the past two years, according to NYPD figures. But police sources and court files reviewed by The New York Post say the improvements have not affected the small group that repeatedly returns to the system after arrests.
Officials point to New York State’s 2019 criminal-justice reforms as a major factor in the trend. The legislation eliminated cash bail for most nonviolent offenses, and under those rules many repeat offenders are released while their cases are pending. Law-enforcement officials say that has allowed those with long arrest records to be detained only briefly and to reoffend.
"Crime is down in the subways, but it's the same handful of criminals making it feel like chaos," a law-enforcement source said. "This kid-gloves approach to bail and lack of prosecution isn't cutting it."
Among the most frequently arrested is Michael Wilson, 39, who has about 198 total arrests, 190 of them tied to the transit system. Wilson’s record includes multiple arrests for alleged criminal tampering tied to rigging MetroCard dispensers, police records show. Another frequent arrestee, Kenney Mitchell, 28, has been arrested roughly 149 times in his life, including 18 arrests since May for alleged theft, forgery and other offenses. Officers say Mitchell was found in June lying on a C train platform with a pocket full of crack vials.
Other repeat offenders named in court and police records include Carlos Baezcaban, 53, with about 72 career arrests including alleged grand larceny and drug possession; Jamar Cobb, 38, with about 48 arrests including alleged robbery and public lewdness; Shaquille Clarke, 32, whose roughly 18 arrests include alleged forcible touching and robbery; and Matthew Leon, 26, with about 29 arrests, 13 of which were for sex-related allegations.
Of six chronic offenders detailed in court records and police summaries, only Leon is currently jailed. Leon was ordered held without bail on a February charge of forcible touching of a minor in Queens. The remaining named arrestees were released pending trial or on other conditions, according to court dockets and law-enforcement sources.
The offenses attributed to the group range from nuisance-level charges such as repeated turnstile-jumping to more serious allegations including robbery and forcible touching. Some have been charged with public lewdness and other sex-related crimes. Officers say the pattern of frequent arrests and quick release creates a repetitive cycle that complicates enforcement and victim confidence.
Prosecutors and police have at times used focused enforcement and targeted deployments to address hotspots in the system, and city officials have credited those tactics with part of the overall decline in transit crime. Still, the continued activity of repeat offenders has prompted calls from some precinct officials and victims for changes in prosecution and pretrial policies.
Legal defense organizations that represent many low-income defendants in the city declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment. The Legal Aid Society, which provides public defenders, declined to comment when contacted. Several private attorneys who have represented some of the repeat defendants either did not respond to requests for comment or declined to discuss their clients’ cases.
City and state officials have previously defended the 2019 reforms as measures intended to reduce pretrial incarceration for low-risk defendants and to address disparities in the criminal-justice system. Critics, including some police officials and victims' advocates, argue the changes have had unintended consequences for public safety in public transit and other public spaces.
NYPD and transit officials continue to emphasize crime statistics showing declines while also acknowledging the operational challenges posed by highly mobile repeat offenders who cycle in and out of the system. Court records and police reports reviewed for this article indicate that a relatively small group of people account for a disproportionate share of transit-related arrests, underscoring the tension between broader crime trends and concentrated incidents that affect riders’ perceptions of safety.
Authorities and advocacy groups differ on how to respond, and any policy changes would involve a mix of prosecutorial discretion, legislative action and decisions by judges in individual cases. Meanwhile, victims and transit riders continue to report incidents that, officials say, are often committed by the same handful of offenders who repeatedly return to the system after arrests.