A Bayside man facing attempted murder, assault and other charges for three attacks was arraigned Monday before Queens Criminal Court Judge Diego Friere on two separate complaints, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Monday.
Donny Ubiera, 32, allegedly injured three people during a four-day reign of terror in subway stations and a Roosevelt Avenue bakery last week.
According to the charges, at around 10:45 a.m.on Wednesday, June 8, Ubiera approached a man from behind as he entered a bakery near Warren Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona. Ubiera was allegedly holding a wooden board with a nail protruding from it in one hand and a rock in the other hand and yelled for the man to “come outside and fight me!”
The victim attempted to evade Ubiera by running behind the counter, but Ubiera allegedly reached over and struck him on the head with the nail-embedded plank. Ubiera ran off and the victim was treated at an area hospital.
According to the charges, at around 8:40 a.m. on Friday, June 10, Ubiera stood over a 62-year-old man as he sat waiting for a train at the Queens Plaza subway station in Long Island City. The victim was looking at his cellphone when he realized Ubiera was hovering over him and heard something drop to the floor. The victim spotted a knife on the ground and Ubiera allegedly picked it up and mumbled something that was inaudible.
Without provocation, Ubiera allegedly began to stab and slash the man, Katz said. The victim raised his hands to protect himself, but Ubiera did not relent. The victim sustained numerous cuts and slash wounds to his hands, fingers and face.
According to the charges, Ubiera fled the scene but was observed by two NYPD officers allegedly throwing two cellphones, one of which belonged to the victim who had been attacked.
Officers from the 108th Precinct and Transit District 20 responded to the incident. EMS brought the victim to Elmhurst Hospital where he required 36 stitches to close his wounds.
The following day, on June 11 around 7:15 a.m. on the Flushing-bound platform at the 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue subway station in Jackson Heights, Ubiera approached a group of four to five people waiting for the train. Again, without provocation, Ubiera allegedly stabbed a 55-year-old man from behind and ran off. The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center and treated for a stab wound to his neck. He required two lifesaving surgeries in order to repair the damage from the puncture wound, according to the DA.
Ubiera, of 202nd Street in Bayside, was taken into custody on Sunday on Utopia Parkway in Whitestone by detectives who recognized his image from video surveillance footage.
“The subway system provides a crucial lifeline to millions of New Yorkers and the safety of our riders is paramount,” Katz said. “As alleged, the defendant began his three days of terror by violently attacking a man inside a bakery, before going on a rampage inside the transit system a repeatedly stabbing two straphangers without provocation over the course of two days. Violence on our subways will never be tolerated and those who display a blatant disregard for the lives of fellow residents will be held accountable.”
Judge Friere ordered Ubiera to return to court on July 6. He faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted. Meanwhile, following Ubiera’s arrest on Sunday, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell expressed frustration that he was on the streets following his arrest on Thursday, June 9 for allegedly threatening a worker at a Jackson Heights bodega with a knife. Ubiera, who has a lengthy rap sheet, was released the following morning one day prior to the Queens Plaza stabbing.
“We have arrested a suspect in two slashings on the subway this weekend,” Sewell said. “Your police are doing their job. We keep arresting him. His record demonstrates that each time he is involved in unprovoked violence against innocent victims the criminal justice system has him back on the streets and the subways rather than jail or psychiatric treatment. He inevitably targets another victim. This is nothing if not predictable.”
