Two men have been indicted by Manhattan grand juries for allegedly assaulting MTA workers last month, District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Thursday.
Bragg said his office had secured indictments against 43-year-old Rashon Eagle of Staten Island and 25-year-old Abdellahi Mohammed of Manhattan for allegedly assaulting MTA transit workers while on the job. Both are charged with second-degree assault; Eagle also has a criminal weapon possession charge, while Mohammed is additionally charged with third-degree assault.
“Every day, MTA workers ensure that our public transportation operates smoothly, helping millions of New Yorkers arrive safely to their destinations. As alleged, Rashon Eagle and Abdellahi Mohammed assaulted two of these workers, who were just doing their jobs, in addition to a Good Samaritan,” Bragg said in a statement. “MTA workers and passengers should not have to fear for their safety when on our buses and subways, and those who jeopardize their safety will be held accountable.”
Prosecutors said Eagle allegedly punched and pulled a knife on the 58-year-old driver of an M15 bus in Manhattan on Feb. 10, allegedly because he was enraged that the bus was moving too slowly.
The driver got out of his cab as Eagle allegedly threatened to stab him, blocking a punch before tackling him to the ground. Eagle allegedly tried to open a pocketknife, but the driver knocked it out of his hands and kept him restrained until cops could respond and arrest Eagle.
The driver was taken to Bellevue Hospital to treat his injuries. Bragg said the driver is still dealing with blurred vision in his left eye and requires continuing medical care for it.
Eagle was released from custody at Rikers Island on bail on Feb. 22.
Mohammed, meanwhile, is accused of punching station agent Noreen Mallory, 58, at the Wall Street 4/5 train stop on Feb. 14.
Mallory said she was making the rounds at her station that morning when she saw Mohammed sleeping under a bench. Mohammed allegedly then started yelling at Mallory and followed her down the platform before punching her repeatedly as a No. 4 train arrived at the station.
Mohammed’s alleged assault on Mallory was cut short by several good samaritans intervening to stop him, one of whom was also punched. Mallory sustained a broken eye socket in the ordeal. Mohammed is being held on Rikers Island on $20,000 bail.
“We have been very aggressively working with district attorneys and other criminal justice system players, to assure the system comes down hard on anybody who dares to attack an MTA worker,” said MTA Chair Janno Lieber. “These two cases were despicable, violent attacks, and we are pleased that the criminal justice system is treating them aggressively.”
The push for greater safety
The indictments come amid a greater public spotlight on subway safety, for riders and workers, following a spike in transit crime in recent months.
On Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the National Guard would begin patrolling subway stations and checking bags, aiming to recover weapons and dissuade would-be criminals from bringing them on the system in the first place.
The plan, coming on the heels of a surge of cops in the system, has garnered a mixed reception from transit riders; the governor has said she hopes soldiers patrolling stations will project a “psychological” calm on riders.
The security measures followed several weeks of mayhem on the rails. Three people were murdered in the subway in January and February, and so far this year, major crimes are up in the system 13% over the same period last year, police say.
Transit workers are feeling particularly vulnerable, particularly after a mystery perpetrator slashed a subway conductor in the neck while on the job late at night in Brooklyn last month. Members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 staged a rush hour work stoppage on the A and C lines in a bid to demand assurances for their safety following the incident.
Hochul also directed the MTA to begin installing cameras within conductor cabs and on the platform near where the cab stops, something the union has long opposed on privacy grounds. Further, she said she backed proposed legislation to ban people convicted of assault on the subway from using the mass transit system at all for three years.
