Last week, a woman contacted Gothamist about a man who was coming by the window of her first floor apartment in the middle of the night, staring at her, and masturbating. Lilliana G. urged the police to stake out the scene and catch him, but she was told that the police didn't have time to do that, and to call 911 when he arrived again.
The man came to her window three more times this week, Lilliana alleges, and after multiple 911 calls, a chase down the street, and an unsuccessful police stakeout, the man was arrested. Eder Miranda, 32, was charged with three counts of public lewdness and harassment today around 2 a.m., the NYPD confirmed.
Lilliana told Gothamist that she went away for the weekend, and on Monday night, at 12:40 a.m., Miranda was back. She called her friend, and then called the cops. Her friend, who identified himself as V.M., showed up with "a piece of wood" in hand (V.M. confirmed that it was a wooden dowel), and the man went running. "We hopped in the car and went chasing him," Lilliana said. V.M. told Gothamist that he drove against traffic on 30th Street in order to find him, but they could not spot him.
"He could have hid anywhere, which was a blessing to me in disguise, because it was a moment where I would have had to jump out, do what I have to do" and then likely be arrested, V.M. told Gothamist. "I can't get myself in trouble right now," he said, because his mother has cancer and he is taking care of her.
The next night, at 1 a.m., he returned.
"I can't breathe anymore," she said, describing the ordeal. She texted V.M., who called the police. The police never showed up, and Miranda left. That night, she called the police back. “I called back and I yelled at the cops. ‘I’m calling you and you don’t come. I’m not even going to call anymore, and I’m going to do what I have to do,’ and she’s like 'whoa,'" said Lilliana, referring to the 911 operator. "The next morning the cops call my friend [V.M.] and apologize."
V.M. told Gothamist that the police told him that they were responding to an emergency, which is why they couldn't come. "We'll get him tomorrow," V.M. said that the police told him. The NYPD did not return a request for comment on these 911 calls.
The next day, the NYPD stayed in front of her apartment for four hours in an unmarked vehicle, but Miranda never showed up. Then early Friday morning, at 12:40 a.m., Miranda came back to her window.
Lilliana went to the bathroom and called the police. "They came in two minutes," she said, and they arrested him. "They arrested him, she identified him... and then he went to central booking," said V.M.
"I'm shaking," she said. "They told me I need to ask for an order of protection today," because he might be released today, and he could come back, she said.
The entire ordeal has taken a real toll on Lilliana, who says she can't go to bed until 3 or 4 in the morning. "I'm not sleeping, I'm not working," she told us.
