Girl, 12, is 3d child charged in ‘catch and wreck’ assault

A 12-year-old girl is the third preteen arrested in the attack of a woman Friday night as part of what police called a vicious game.

Beating and stomping adults believed to be homeless was apparently a sport to a group of children between the ages of 9 and 15 at the Finnegan Playground at 69th Street and Grovers Avenue, according to Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives.

He called the game "catch and wreck," although the actual name might be "catchin' rep," as in reputation, according to a Daily News report.

Belinda Moore, 42, was on her way home Friday night from a cleaning job, when she took a shortcut through the playground and was struck with sticks and punched, Walker said. She broke free, managing to limit her injuries to an injured knee and a head wound.

Previously charged with assaulting her were another 12-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. The second 12-year-old girl was arrested yesterday.

Their names are being withheld because they're juveniles.

The boy was also charged in an even more brutal case.

On March 13, Vincent Poppa, 73, suffered a heart attack during or shortly after being attacked near the playground, and remains at Methodist Hospital, where he recently was on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, Walker said.

Poppa was allegedly struck in the back of the head with a gun, knocked unconscious and stomped by four or five male youths around 9 p.m.

The resident of a nearby senior citizens complex was returning from buying a soda when he was attacked, Walker said.

Medical personnel found footprints on Poppa's head and sneaker marks on his body, he added.

Police learned about the game when a large group of neighborhood youths were questioned at Southwest Detectives after the assault on Moore.

"They were all saying the same thing, laughing at us, like we didn't know what it meant," Walker said. "They said, 'It's something stupid we do for fun.' "

"It's bizarre mindset these kids have developed," Walker said. "We're hoping we can nip it in the bud."

Additional arrests are possible, police said.