Gang-assault sentences
Three men and a woman who were convicted of brutally assaulting a man on the Lower East Side in 2010 have all been given stiff prison terms, ranging from five to 15 years, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced April 5.
Martrell Terrell, 23; Andrew McCray, 24; Christopher Montanez, 29; and Shadia Brackman, 24, were all found guilty on Jan. 23 on assault charges of varying degrees, including one count of felony gang assault and one count of standard felony assault for each defendant.
During the early morning hours of May 8, 2010, the group of four — all of whom were later found to be intoxicated — surrounded and began beating a man on the corner of Essex and Rivington Sts., according to court documents. The attackers kicked, punched and hit the defenseless man — including with a wooden board, at one point — continuing the onslaught so long and intensely that, among other injuries, he suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear, the D.A. said. A video of the assault was widely viewed on YouTube.
Terrell, of Stroudsburg, Penn., and McCray, of Yonkers, both received 15 years in prison. Montanez, also of Yonkers, received eight years. Brackman, of the Bronx, received five years. All four will also face five years of post-release supervision.
Drunk driving in a hot cab
Trying to flee arrest, an intoxicated woman on April 6 carjacked a cab that was parked right outside the Sixth Police Precinct.
Police said that the taxi’s driver had come to the precinct around 1:30 a.m. to complain about the antics of Kate O’Brien, 36, who he claimed had been harassing him after he picked her up as a fare. He left her sitting in the cab when he went inside, and O’Brien promptly sped off and drove onto the West Side Highway.
She was pulled over minutes later, while speeding northbound on the highway. Officers said, when they pulled O’Brien out of the taxi, her breath smelled of alcohol, she had bloodshot eyes, and she was very unsteady on her feet.
O’Brien was charged with grand theft auto and driving while intoxicated.
Dead woman on tracks
A young woman was found dead on the subway tracks of the Canal St. 1 train station on the afternoon of April 7, after she had apparently been lying there nearly 12 hours, police said.
Emily Singleton, 22, of Park Slope, drunkenly left McKenna’s Pub, on W. 14th St., around 1:30 a.m. after a night of partying, according to video viewed by police. Other security videos showed her entering the subway station at W. 14th St. and Seventh Ave. shortly after that, where she caught the train down to Canal St.
Police said they believe Singleton fell onto the tracks after exiting onto the platform at the Canal St. station, and subsequently suffered a fatal head injury when she struck the rails. The young woman, who was wearing high heels, was eventually found under piles of soot between the tracks, with no ID or cell phone, police said.
Indicted in cleaver attack
A Brooklyn man has been indicted for attacking his 23-year-old wife with a meat cleaver on a Chinatown sidewalk, Manhattan D.A. Vance announced April 3.
Ming Guang Huang, 28, is charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and second-degree kidnaping, for an attack that left his wife with deep gashes that required intensive surgery to treat, the D.A. said.
Around 10:30 a.m. Feb. 24, Huang was arguing with his wife in front of 74 Canal St. when the dispute escalated, and he allegedly began hacking at her repeatedly with the meat cleaver, according to court documents. Two city firefighters, who were standing nearby, intervened and stopped the attack, but not before the blade had penetrated the woman’s skull and pierced her brain, the D.A. said.
“Domestic violence doesn’t just take place inside the home — it sometimes spills out onto city streets,” said Vance. “I thank the members of the F.D.N.Y. responsible for stopping the defendant; their courageous act may have saved the victim’s life.”
Huang’s next court date is set for June 12.
Sam Spokony
