Halloween melee suspects due in court

The next court date for the black and Hispanic suspects in the alleged Howard Beach Halloween melee will be on February 7.
The men - Talique Jackson, 16, Patrick Pugh, 18, George Morales, 25, Victor Tossas, 16, and Terrance Scott, 18, all from Brooklyn - were also barred from any contact with the victims, four white men they are alleged to have chased into a McDonald’s on Cross Bay Boulevard on Halloween, where they assaulted the teens with hard objects. One victim, Joseph Friedman, was hit with a broomstick on the back of the head and required stitches.
The alleged perpetrators have been charged second-degree assault, second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Despite outcries from Howard Beach residents, many of whom feel the attack was racially motivated, no hate crime charges have been added at this point.
After a police lineup was held in late November, the defendants appeared at Queens Criminal Court on Monday, December 17.
Besides one positive identification of defendant Victor Tossas, 16, none of the five was positively identified by witnesses.
The District Attorney is currently asking anyone with information regarding this case to come forward.