Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Thursday, Sept. 22, that a Manhattan man has been hit with second-degree assault and additional charges for attacking an NYC Transit Authority employee in the Pelham Bay Park subway station, during which he allegedly slammed him to the ground, causing him to break some bones.

 

In the context of the announcement, Clark said the employee was simply doing his job, cleaning and checking on conditions at the Pelham Bay Park station, during which time he approached a man who the employee was told was harassing people. “The defendant approached the employee and assaulted him, causing serious injuries,” Clark said. “This was unconscionable. Anyone who assaults a transit worker will be held accountable.”

 

Clark said the defendant, Alexander Wright, 49, last of East 125^th Street in Manhattan, was arraigned on Thursday on two counts of second-degree assault and third-degree assault before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas.

 

According to the investigation, at approximately 8:40 a.m. on Aug. 11, the victim, Anthony Nelson, an NYC Transit Authority station cleaner, went to check out a report of a man who had allegedly been harassing people on the lower level of the Pelham Bay Park train station. Wright allegedly approached Nelson, punching him in the face. He then allegedly grabbed him and slammed him to the ground. The victim suffered a dislocated nose, broken collarbone, and other injuries, and required two surgeries to fix his collar bone.

 

Reacting to the news, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “I am grateful to District Attorney Clark for the indictment of Alexander Wright for brutally assaulting subway cleaner Anthony Nelson while he was trying to help other New Yorkers”  “As New Yorkers return to mass transit in record numbers, it is essential that the system is safe for riders and frontline transit workers, and that those who prey on them face justice.” According to police, Wright has more than 40 prior arrests.

 

The case is being prosecuted by assistant district attorney, Michael Dal Lago, of Trial Bureau 50, under the supervision of Lawrence Piergrossi, chief of Trial Bureau 50, and under the overall supervision of James Brennan, deputy chief of the Trial Division, and Theresa Gottlieb, chief of the Trial Division.

 

Clark thanked trial preparation assistant, Mercedes Agramonte, of Trial Bureau 50 for her assistance in the case, as well as NYPD Officer Jose Hernandez of Transit District 12, and Kevin McCaffrey, assistant deputy general counsel at MTA law department.

 

Bail status was continued for Wright and he is due back in court on Nov. 3.

 

A person accused of a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.