Judge orders lineup for Halloween fight five

A Queens Criminal Court Judge has ordered a lineup for five defendants involved in a Halloween Night brawl in Howard Beach, despite claims from the defendants’ attorneys that the courts lack probable cause to do so.
At a November 30 hearing, defendants Patrick Pugh, 18, George Morales, 25, Terrance Scott, 18, Talique Jackson, 16, and Victor Tossas, 16, all from Brooklyn, were ordered by Criminal Court Judge Deborah Stevens Modica to stand before eyewitnesses in a lineup.
Witnesses say a group of black and Hispanic males chased a group of white teenagers from Howard Beach into a McDonald’s on Cross Bay Boulevard Wednesday, October 31, then beat them with hard objects. One victim, Joseph Friedman, was hit with a broomstick on the back of the head and required stitches.
The alleged attackers were part of a group of 30 to 40, witnesses said. Police from the 106th Precinct made eight arrests, ultimately charging the five defendants with second-degree assault, second-degree menacing, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating whether the incident may have been racially motivated.
At the hearing, Judge Modica was met with arguments from the defendants’ lawyers that the melee on Cross Bay Boulevard was not as one-sided as reports claim.
Mehia Kim, who represented Jackson, said the only accusation against her client is that he “was inside the McDonald’s.”
“If you read the complaint, it says there were 30 people or so inside the McDonald’s and hundreds of others outside,” said Kim. “To suggest my client was pointed out as being there tells us nothing” about his participation in the attack.
Joseph Suraci, representing Scott, said his client was also accused of “being present at the scene,” but not of taking any action to “constitute charges.”
Scott also claims he was called the “N word” by a white male who chased him with a golf club, said Suraci.
Attorney Damian Brown said his client, Victor Tossas, was running away from local teens, rather than chasing them, when he was arrested. Tossas claims one officer made a racial slur during the arrest, said Brown.
“There’s no reason to put them in a lineup,” said Brown, “other than to maybe put them on a corner in Howard Beach, where people seem very interested in [convicting them].”
Assistant District Attorney Mariella Herring, Chief of the Gang Violence and Hate Crimes Bureau, stated her position that “all defendants were acting together and all were responsible.”
Patrick Pugh, the only defendant positively identified by an eyewitness as having committed physical assault, was not present at the hearing and is currently being held in custody, with bail set at $10,000.
Pugh’s lawyer, Edward Muccini, said his client vehemently denies the charges levied against him.
“He knows nothing about what happened that night,” said Muccini. “He did not see anyone get hit with a broomstick. He did not do what the police are saying he did.”
The lineup was set for Tuesday, December 4, and no word has been released on its outcome.
Lawyers requested a double-blind lineup, meaning that neither the participants in the lineup nor the police officers conducting it know which participant is the defendant.
However, the double-blind request was denied on Tuesday, December 4.
The next trial date for the case is December 17, when, said Muccini, the D.A.’s office may recommend that the case go before a grand jury.
The process of setting a date for the trial may be a long one, but for some Howard Beach locals, the investigation has already taken long enough.
At the Howard Beach Civic Forum’s monthly meeting Tuesday, November 27, NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force Sergeant Ron Lynch and 106th Precinct Captain Joseph Courtesis were met with concerns from some parents claiming investigators are dragging their feet.
Dawn Cammarata, whose son, Shawn, was present at the McDonald’s during the altercation and played a key role in identifying alleged attackers, openly questioned the speed at which the investigative process has moved.
Lynch assured that the high volume of witnesses is to blame for the delay.
“There are 150 witnesses,” said Lynch. “It’s completely normal for it to take this long.”
“Our goal is absolutely not to push this under the rug and hope Howard Beach forgets,” added Courtesis. “That is absolutely false.”Lynch said determining whether or not a crime is racially-motivated requires a careful investigation.
Statistics say hate crimes have risen 20 percent throughout New York City in the last year.