By —Tom Tracy
Police from the 61st Precinct spent their New Year’s Day focusing on sewing up some unfinished business. Officials said that the first arrest of the new year was the apprehension of a man wanted in connection with a brutal attack at a Gerritsen Beach bar back in November. Marcus Schiller, 34, of the 2000 block of East 63rd Street in Mill Basin, was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the alleged attack, where he and four friends mercilessly beat a 25-year-old Staten Island resident with pool cues during an argument inside the bar, police alleged. During the fight, a friend of Schiller’s — who police later arrested shortly after the November 5 attack — allegedly pulled a gun on their victim, threatening to kill him. Police said that it was that move that escalated the 9 p.m. melee from a simple bar brawl to a fight over life and death. The victim, a resident of Todt Hill Road, told police that he was in the Bantry Bar, 2718 Gerritsen Avenue, when four men allegedly grabbed him and threw him on top of a pool table. The foursome then each grabbed pool sticks and began whacking the victim with them, causing an injury to his back and jaw, police alleged. During the flurry of activity, police said that 48-year-old Raymond Cash of Casselbury, Florida allegedly pulled a loaded Smith and Wesson from his waistband and aimed it at the victim. The victim managed to kick the gun out of his hand as the remaining suspects broke off their attack, said officials. Cops later recovered the gun. Cash was apprehended a short time later at the corner of East 22nd Street and Jerome Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, charged with assault, menacing and criminal possession of a loaded firearm. The gun wasn’t registered to Cash or anyone else involved in the fight, according to officials. Instead, the gun was reported stolen from a home in the 62nd Precinct in Bensonhurst. Police said that their only arrest of January 1 was at 11 p.m. that night, where they found Schiller at the corner of Voorhies Avenue and East 23rd Street. Schiller, who name was allegedly disclosed to police the night of the attack, was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. As of this writing, cops were still looking for two others involved in the case. Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is urged to call the 61st Precinct at (718) 627-6611. All calls will be kept confidential.
