By Ivan Pereira
The film student accused of slashing a Jamaica cabbie because of his Muslim faith was released from jail with strict stipulations Tuesday afternoon, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.
Michael Enright’s family helped to pay a $500,000 bond that a Manhattan Court Judge issued for the School of Visual Arts student and he was out of handcuffs after being held more than a month at the psych ward at Bellevue Hospital, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA’s office said.
He was arrested Aug. 24 and charged with stabbing Ahmad H. Sharif, who was driving the student around Manhattan, according to prosecutors.
Enright, 21, who had been reportedly drinking before he got into the cab, chatted with the Bangladeshi immigrant about his Muslim faith and then shouted, “Assalaumu Alaikum,” an Arabic phrase meaning “Peace be with you,” before he stabbed the driver through the taxi partition, prosecutors said. Sharif survived, but the attack galvanized groups to call for tolerance against Muslim New Yorkers.
The defendant’s attorney pleaded with the judge to release Enright from jail while he fights an attempted murder charge because he said his client suffered from mental problems related to a recent trip to Afghanistan.
Although the judge complied with the request, he ordered Enright to adhere to several specific conditions to avoid going back behind bars, according to the DA’s office.
The defendant will have to wear a monitoring ankle bracelet, will be barred from visiting bars and clubs that serve alcohol, cannot travel outside New York state, will follow an 8 p.m. curfew and will meet with a mental health professional, a spokeswoman for the DA’s office said. The professional will provide frequent updates on his condition with prosecutors and Enright’s attorney, according to the DA’s office.
He was expected back in court Dec. 8, the spokeswoman said.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
