Port Richmond man pleads guilty to robbery charge

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Port Richmond felon helped convict himself by leaving his DNA on a discarded beer can in a cab during a robbery.

John Negron, 44, pleaded guilty yesterday in state Supreme Court, St. George, to a felony count of attempted second-degree robbery, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan said. 

Police say the defendant called TJ's Car Service for a cab to take him from Charles Avenue in Port Richmond to Downey Place in Mariners Harbor on Sept. 10 about 12:20 a.m.

Negron pulled out a knife during the ride, held it against the driver's neck, and stabbed the driver in the chest, cops said. The driver lost control of the car and crashed during the ordeal, police said. He survived the attack and wreck.

Negron left behind a can of Coors Light in the back of the cab, prosecutors said. The DNA found on it matched his sample on file, according to authorities.

Negron was charged with three felony counts of robbery, along with felony and misdemeanor counts of weapon possession.

Under the plea deal, he's slated to be sentenced June 20 to three years behind bars and five years' post-release supervision.

Negron previously served two prison stints, according to online records of the state Department of Correctional Services.

He was sentenced in 2003 to three to six years for a drug conviction on Staten Island, and in 1991 received one and a half to four and a half years for a robbery conviction in Brooklyn.

Attempts to reach Negron's lawyer yesterday for comment were unsuccessful.