A parolee with nearly two dozen previous arrests was busted Thursday for attempting to rape and rob a woman in Downtown Brooklyn after posing as an immigration agent, cops and sources said.
Leon Howell, 43, allegedly took the 51-year-old woman’s iPhone during the brutal Tuesday attack inside the basement in a building at Montague and Henry Streets – but that ended up working to cops’ advantage when they used the victim’s Find my iPhone app to track him down, the law enforcement sources said.
Howell – who was just paroled last month in connection to the 2017 strangulation of a stranger in Brooklyn – was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, third-degree burglary and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, police said.
The woman was waiting for a cab in the building’s lobby at Montague and Henry streets around 10:50 a.m. when Howell allegedly approached her and claimed he was an immigration officer, authorities said.
He then allegedly dragged the woman into an elevator, taking her down to the basement, police sources said.
There, he punched the woman in the face, knocking her to the floor, the sources said.
Howell then allegedly took off the woman’s pants and underwear — until she pleaded with him to stop, the sources said.
The vicious attacker grabbed the woman’s chain, cellphone and purse before fleeing on Montague Street toward Henry Street, cops said.
The victim was taken to a local hospital, where she was treated for cuts on her face, scratches and bruises, but was listed in stable condition, authorities said.
Investigators believe the woman may have been targeted because of her ethnicity or race, sources said.
Howell has 20 prior arrests, sources said.
The busts include a 2018 assault while he was locked up on Rikers Island, cops said. It’s unclear who he allegedly assaulted in that case or the crime he was being held on during his time in the city lock-up.
He was also arrested in 2017 for allegedly strangling a female stranger from behind in a random attack inside a Brooklyn public bathroom, cops said.
He was sentenced to seven years in state prison in connection to that incident, and served time from July 2019 until he was released this past Jan. 14, state Corrections records show.
His parole is set to expire in 2029.