Police have arrested a 22-year-old man who was caught on camera whipping a yellow taxi cab with a belt, damaging the hood, following the Knicks’ comeback victory in Game 4 of the NBA finals, officials said Friday.
An NYPD Warrants Squad grabbed Marshawn Nelson at his home in Canarsie, Brooklyn, charging him with criminal mischief.
Nelson was caught on camera standing on top of a yellow taxi driven by Noureddine Bitat, thrashing the hood of the vehicle with a belt by the corner of 36th St. and Seventh Ave. at about 12:30 a.m. on June 11, about an hour after the Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit to secure a 3-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals.
Nelson left the hood dented, officials said.
More than a half-dozen people were recorded standing on the destroyed cab, some waving Palestinian flags. The suspects shattered the windshield and attempted to flip the vehicle over before they ultimately dispersed.
A taxi is pictured damaged after Knicks fans flooded the streets of Manhattan around Madison Square Garden on June 10, 2026. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Nelson was released after pleading not guilty at a brief arraignment proceeding in Manhattan Criminal Court. The charges against him were not bail eligible.
He is the second man to be arrested for destroying the cab.
Saul Vargas of Saint Cloud, Florida was also charged with criminal mischief on June 15. Vargas was on his way back to Florida when he surrendered to authorities, cops said.
Cops arrested Saul Vargas, who police said was captured on video damaging a yellow taxi after the Knicks won Game 4 of the NBA Finals. (NYPD)
Bitat, 59, was dragged out of the cab and beaten as thousands of revelers celebrated in the streets outside Madison Square Garden.
Speaking through a translator, he told reporters he was stuck in celebration traffic at W. 36th St. and Seventh Ave. when he and his car were attacked.
“The cop who was managing the traffic asked him to slow down and stop at the red light,” Noureddine Afsi, the translator, said as Bitat spoke in Arabic. “The crowd came and attacked him. They grabbed him out of the car. They grabbed him from the neck and someone punched him. They shattered the windshield. They opened the four doors, the trunk and they were yelling, ‘Knicks in 5! Knicks in 5!’”
A few good Samaritans pushed away the crowds and pulled him out of harm’s way as revelers destroyed his taxi.
A Gofundme post has raised more than $77,000 for Bitat, who has a wife and three children in Algeria, where he was an Arabic teacher for more than 20 years before he came to New York four years ago.
He’s been driving a taxi for two years, he said.
Cab driver Noureddine Bitat (inset) was beaten and dragged from the yellow cab he was driving (main) just blocks away from Madison Square Garden by several rowdy and violent Knicks fans after a dramatic come-from-behind win last week over the San Antonio Spurs on June 10, 2026. (Nicholas Williams / New York Daily News; Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The NYPD said 56 people were taken into custody in the hours following the end of Game 4, as large crowds of unruly fans formed at various spots north of MSG between Fifth and Eighth Avenues. Out of that number, 41 received criminal court summonses and were let go, while 15 were criminally charged and sent to court.
Fans also climbed on top of four NYPD vehicles, damaging their windows. Some also broke into a tractor trailer, stealing items inside.
Other videos show fans setting off fireworks in the street and getting quickly arrested.
Fans were accused of blocking traffic, fighting in the street, climbing on top of trucks and throwing bottles at police officers. Ten cops were injured in the chaos, including one officer who was struck by a thrown bottle, police said.
Cops are still searching for this suspect. (NYPD)
Another casualty of the post-game celebration was a 17-year-old boy beaten into a coma outside a bar near Madison Square garden.
Police believe that teen was attacked by a Twitch streamer who was screaming “Spurs in 7!” to get a reaction from the throngs of Knicks fans lining the streets and cheering on every point the home team made.
So far, no arrests have been made in the gang attack.
Cops are looking for a third suspect — a young man wearing a Knicks jersey — for vandalizing the taxi.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.