Brazen thief carjacks cabbie at knifepoint outside NYC hotel, eagle-eyed cops bust him after joyride: police

A brazen thief carjacked a yellow cabbie at knifepoint outside a Chelsea hotel early Monday – before eagle-eyed cops spotted him uptown and eventually busted the joyriding bozo. John Butler, 52, flashed a knife at the 55-year-old driver in front of the Courtyard by Marriott-Chelsea on West 30th Street near Seventh Avenue around 3:10 a.m., police said. Butler, who is believed to be homeless, demanded the driver get out of the cab, according to police, which he did. The knife-wielding man then hopped behind the wheel and sped off, driving for miles on a joyride as cops tracked the car through GPS, authorities and sources said. Butler apparently drove all the way to the Upper West Side, where officers spotted the stolen cab and followed it as the thief quickly turned around and headed back downtown, sources said.With cops hot on his tail, Butler made it as far as West 46th Street and Seventh Avenue, near the heart of Times Square, before cops finally caught him, police and sources said. He was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery, grand larceny auto, possession of a forged instrument, unauthorized use of a vehicle, menacing with a weapon, reckless endangerment and reckless driving, according to police. Luckily, the cabbie wasn’t hurt during the pre-dawn carjacking, cops said.Butler – whose address is listed as a shelter about a mile from the scene of the crime – has five prior arrests, sources told The Post. He was last arrested for criminal possession of a controlled substance on April 8, according to the sources. ...