DA Vance announced the sentencing of David Baril to 22 years in state prison for using a hammer to attack an NYPD officer and three other victims during a three-day series of assaults. On May 22, 2017, the defendant pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to Attempted Aggravated Assault Upon a Police Officer and Assault in the Second Degree.
By Greg Berman and Julian Adler
Last week, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced a new slate of reforms aimed at avoiding criminal prosecution for approximately 20,000 non-violent misdemeanor cases per year. Going forward, individuals arrested for jumping the subway turnstile and minor drug possession in Manhattan will be held accountable through engagement in social services rather than conventional prosecution.
Vance’s decision is effectively an effort to remake misdemeanor justice in New York City, and its importance should not be underestimated. While much of the media coverage of crime focuses on felony offenses, the reality is that the vast majority of criminal cases are misdemeanors –approaching 80 percent in the state court system.
DA Vance announced the sentencing of Norman Beavers to 5 ½-to-11 years in state prison for stealing the identity of a Manhattan resident, working under the victim’s name and Social Security number, fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits, and obtaining loans in the victim’s name. On June 2, 2017, the defendant pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and Identity Theft in the First Degree.
DA Vance announced the indictment of Richard Rojas for intentionally driving his car into a crowd of pedestrians in Times Square, fatally striking an 18-year-old woman and injuring 18 others. The defendant is charged in New York State Supreme Court with Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and Assault in the First and Second Degrees.
Even as crime has fallen to record lows in recent years, the police have continued to haul thousands of fare beaters into the city’s criminal courts, filling the calendars with cases that often end with the defendants pleading guilty and being sentenced to the time they had already been in jail.
Now, the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. has decided that his office will no longer prosecute most of the people charged with fare evasion in Criminal Court.