A Bedford-Stuyvesant man faces up to 25 years in prison for allegedly stabbing the partner of a transgender person in a fit of homophobic rage on June 22, according to Brooklyn’s top prosecutor.
“There is no place for such ignorance and intolerance in Brooklyn, where we celebrate our diversity,” said District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “We will now seek to hold this defendant accountable for this very serious attack.”
A grand jury slapped the defendant with a 25-count indictment that included charges of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault as a hate crime on Aug. 28, and Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun ordered him held on $40,000 bail, according to Gonzalez.
The defendant allegedly stalked the couple to their Malcolm X Avenue apartment building at 6 a.m., where he banged on doors in search of the pair, while shouting “I’m glad I know where you live, because I don’t like gay people.” The transgender resident then opened the door, but quickly slammed it shut when the defendant pulled out a knife, according to prosecutors.
The couple later went searching for the defendant, but after deciding to head back home, the man found them, lunging at the victim and his transgender partner as they returned to their building, stabbing the man in the back of the neck, according to Gonzalez.
The defendant fled, and emergency responders transported the victim to Kings County Hospital, where doctors rushed to treat a grevious, six-inch stab wound, which severed one of his vertebral arteries — the main vessel that transports blood to the brain. The victim is in stable condition and was not paralyzed, the DA’s office reported.
The defendant is due back in court on Oct. 23.
