The male charged with shoving a female on to the subway tracks in Occasions Square was acting in self defense, his lawyer claimed at his first courtroom visual appearance on Saturday.
Carlos Ortiz, 32, is accused of snatching a woman’s belongings at the 42nd Avenue subway station, then pushing her on to the tracks of the northbound R educate, in accordance to police.
But Ortiz’s legal professional, Francis White of Lawful Support, argued that witnesses who spoke to law enforcement and the media unfairly assumed his consumer to be a “mugger,” or “snatcher.”
“It appears to be the people have a really weak situation,” White said.
“He’s plainly – even by their concept to some diploma – a victim, a person who was attacked by lady who falls into the subway.”
On Friday all-around 1:45 p.m. Ortiz allegedly grabbed a woman’s belongings at the 42nd Avenue subway station then pushed her onto the keep track of for the northbound R practice, according to law enforcement. Bystanders rapidly jumped into motion, serving to her off the tracks again on to the system and even nabbing Ortiz as he tried out to flee, holding him until finally law enforcement arrived on scene, cops claimed.
The 36-year-old female was transported to Bellevue Healthcare facility with head injuries. Ortiz was arrested and charged with assault on Friday after a witness recognized him in a police lineup, officials reported.
Ortiz appeared disheveled in courtroom on Saturday, sporting a dirty gray sweatshirt.
“We have a circumstance right here exactly where anyone fell into a subway as component of an altercation so the intended fantastic Samaritans assumed that the pusher was a mugger and a perpetrator, and made statements to the law enforcement, or to the push, or someone to that impact,” White stated.
“Assuming that what appeared to materialize was my client was accosted by another person and he was shielding himself,” White extra.
Online video evidence of the assault seems to exhibit the sufferer hitting Ortiz times before he pushed her on the tracks, Assistant District Legal professional Jacqueline Sudley disclosed.
“This is a critical circumstance where the defendant stands accused of pushing a girl onto the subway tracks after an altercation, resulting in the woman to be hospitalized with a severe head injuries,” Studley explained on Saturday.
“There is a online video of the complainant assaulting or trying to assault the defendant in the times preceding the defendant pushing the complainant onto the subway tracks,” she mentioned. “There is also an eyewitness that mentioned the complainant was placing the defendant prior to the thrust.”
White questioned that Ortiz be freed on supervised release, but that request was denied by Judge Robert Rosenthal, who set his bail at $5,000 income and $30,000 bond. The prosecution experienced requested bail be established at $20,000 money.
“This is a very sturdy chance that there will be a awful miscarriage of justice if bail is set,” White stated. “My consumer is explained in newspapers as a homeless man or woman. Clearly he can’t make bail.”
Ortiz has 1 prior misdemeanor demand in New York, according to Studley, with two other misdemeanor convictions in Connecticut, for which he served 1 yr in jail after delivering law enforcement with two independent names. He also had many warrants in 2014 for prices these types of as intense vending and trespassing. Those prices had been all dismissed, apart from one the place he made $1 bail.
His up coming court docket visual appeal will be on Thursday, Nov. 18.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul responded to the alleged assault on Friday, vowing to make the city’s general public transportation technique safer.
“I am horrified that a female was pushed on to the tracks at the Situations Square subway station currently, and I’m hoping for her total restoration,” she said in a tweet Friday. “I’m working with @MTA and our City partners to make our transit program safer. No just one need to journey the prepare or wander the streets in dread.”