Assault on elderly man and two cops, released without bail to attack again, because why not?
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wind ‘im up and set him loose again
A “ticking time bomb” accused of assaulting an elderly man and two cops Monday and then released without bail was arrested again Friday when he tried to shove a Brooklyn straphanger onto the subway tracks — in what critics ripped as another case of junk justice in the Big Apple.
The 24-year-old victim was walking on the northbound N train platform in Sunset Park’s 59th Street station Friday morning when Ricky Vidal, 23, allegedly shoved him from behind toward the tracks, police sources said.
Vidal had been arrested Monday, accused of assaulting a 73-year-old with the man’s own cane as he waited for a bus in South Ozone Park, according to a criminal complaint.
When police arrived, he allegedly punched one in the face giving him a black eye and then head-butted another, according to the complaint, which said both cops went to the hospital.
Vidal was hit with a slew of charges including felony assault for injuring someone older than 65 and criminal possession of a weapon, records show. Yet he was released without bail at 10 p.m. Tuesday by Judge Anthony Battisti, an appointee of former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“The guy is literally a ticking time bomb. His behavior continues to spiral out of control. He is clearly an untreated, mentally ill individual in the transit system. Releasing him back to the streets puts New Yorkers and even cops in danger,” a law enforcement source told The Post.
The source added that “It’s like these judges just don’t care.”
Clearly, Mr. Vidal is mentally disturbed, and should probably be in a mental, rather than a penal institution, but the combination of New York’s laws and its judges prevent either alternative, and instead, allow the deranged the same freedom of the streets accorded violent criminals; “because we care”.
