The Bronx man accused of kidnapping a doctor outside a Brooklyn nightclub and forcing him to go on a wild shopping spree missed a court date in the bizarre case this month — because he was locked up on new theft charges, records show.
Anthony Benjamin, 42, was arrested in November for stealing a cell phone in Manhattan, then using its Apple Pay account to buy a phone charger — landing him in Rikers Island and making him a no-show at his Jan. 5 hearing in Connecticut.
“He’s currently being held … in New York City,” his attorney, Benjamin Aponte, said in Stamford Superior Court that day, according to The Hour. “There’s another criminal matter. I don’t know if there’s a new case or an old one.”
In fact, the case was new — and stemmed from Benjamin’s alleged theft of a wallet, driver’s license and iPhone from a victim in Midtown West, according to court documents.
Authorities said Benjamin allegedly approached his victim at about 5 a.m. on Nov. 1, near the corner of Ninth Avenue and West 40th Street, and slyly lifted his wallet, credit cards, driver’s license and iPhone.
A few hours later, the victim got an alert saying someone had used his iPhone’s Apple Pay to buy a cell charger at the Mr. Good Guy Smokeshop on Broadway in Washington Heights, the criminal complaint said.
Benjamin was caught-on-camera making the buy — and the officer who wrote the complaint said he watched on video as Benjamin pressed the iPhone against the credit card reader.
Cops were already familiar with Benjamin because of previous arrests, the complaint said.
They collared Benjamin about two weeks later, on Nov. 12.
When officers arrested him, they allegedly found the stolen phone in his possession.
Benjamin was charged with two counts of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, and a Manhattan Criminal Court judge set his bail at $25,000 cash or $75,000 bond or partially-secured bond.
He pleaded not guilty at his Dec. 7 arraignment, then was sent to Rikers Island.
His next court date is March 7, according to court records.
The new arrest has interfered with the Connecticut kidnapping case.
Benjamin is charged there with snatching a 32-year-old ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon outside the troubled Brooklyn Mirage music venue and taking him on a $6,000 shopping spree on July 22 and 23 through Brooklyn, The Bronx and Manhattan.
During the trip, Dr. Michael Bautista, of Norwalk, allegedly shelled out cash for a strip club visit, haircuts, pizza and smoothies, according to law enforcement sources.
Benjamin claimed he had a gun on him the whole time, and told the doc, “If you do anything funny, I’ll kill you,” sources said.
Then he allegedly recruited a friend, Steve Daley, to drive him and Bautista to the Connecticut hospital in which he worked — which is where police arrested Benjamin and his accused accomplice.
Benjamin was charged with second-degree kidnapping with a firearm and possession of a controlled substance, while Daley was charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping.
Despite the severity of the charges against them, both Daley and Benjamin were allowed to walk free on a “promise to appear” back in court throughout their proceedings, The Post previously reported.
The pair were initially facing bails of $1 million and $250,000 before being cut loose. It remains unclear why they were allowed to walk.
Bautista has claimed the pair ensnared him after the show at the Mirage, which is known as a target for criminals who want to take advantage of drunk or otherwise inebriated people wandering around the neighborhood.
Daley was driving the taxi he leapt into, and Benjamin was already in the backseat, according to a Norwalk police report.
They refused to take Bautista to his car, and instead brought him on the wild ride — all while Benjamin allegedly told him that he was “packing,” wasn’t afraid to “let bullets fly” and had “put people in body bags before.”
Bautista said he played along with the kidnappers until they brought him to the hospital, where he told security.
The judge set Benjamin’s new court date for Feb. 26, but Aponte, his attorney, said it wasn’t clear if he could make it, The Hour said.
Daley must return the same day, according to the outlet.
