STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Stapleton man with a history of stealing city buses took an empty MTA bus from the Staten Island Ferry terminal in St. George early Friday morning, police allege.

Nickolas Ellias, 22, allegedly stole the bus from the ramp sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. and went on a nearly four-mile joyride before abandoning the bus near Church Street and Port Richmond Avenue in Port Richmond, according to an NYPD spokesman.

It is unclear how he accessed the bus.

Ellias took the vehicle at 2:20 a.m. and was arrested near Broad and Cedar streets in Stapleton at around 3:42 a.m., a law enforcement source said.

Authorities, police said, used surveillance video from the bus to track down the suspect.

Ellias, of Broad Street, was charged with grand larceny auto and criminal mischief, the police spokesman said.

Two years ago, the defendant was arrested for taking another MTA bus from the ferry terminal.

On June 16, 2014, police said Ellias stole the vehicle from the transit ramp at the ferry terminal in St. George at around 1:30 a.m., according to Advance records.

Witnesses alerted authorities that a young man was driving a city bus. Officials used GPS tracking technology to help locate the vehicle, and police arrested Ellias around 2:15 a.m. on Targee and Broad streets in Stapleton, more than a mile away from the ferry terminal.

Ellias, who's known by his nickname "Drizzy," lives a short distance from the arrest location.

An MTA spokesman said at the time Ellias stole the empty bus, which was parked on a ramp, the driver had left for a break. Drivers are supposed to turn off the engine, secure the brake and lock the doors before leaving, the spokesman previously told the Advance.

In September 2014, Ellias pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny, the top count against him, and also pleaded guilty to a lower felony count of fourth-degree grand larceny and a misdemeanor count of unauthorized vehicle use, Advance records show.

Under his agreement, Ellias had to undergo at least 18 months of treatment, including group therapy and counseling, said prosecutors at the time of the plea deal.

Last year, Ellias allegedly attacked a registered nurse who was trying to treat him at Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton. He wrapped both hands about the nurse's throat and squeezed, causing "redness and substantial pain to her neck," according to a criminal complaint against him.

The defendant also has a history of behavioral problems, including an arrest on menacing charges in 2012, and a weapon possession arrest in 2013 in which he pulled a kitchen knife and threatened to stab someone, according to police. In one 2013 incident, police said, he was accused of threatening a female relative and saying "Back up. I'm not going to school."