A Queens grand jury indicted a Jamaica man for attacking an airport worker in a Howard Beach subway station late last month.
Courtney Jacobs, 38, of Liberty Avenue, was arraigned Wednesday in Queens Supreme Court on an indictment charging him with attempted murder in the second degree and other related crimes for allegedly hitting the 50-year-old man with a cane and slashing him across the chest with a knife.
According to the indictment and investigation, on May 26, at around 11:21 p.m., the victim was standing on the westbound platform of the Howard Beach-JFK Airport A train station. The airport worker was speaking on the phone when Jacobs approached him and engaged in a verbal dispute, and then hit him multiple times with a cane. Jacobs then allegedly punched the victim in the head, causing him to fall to the platform.
After the victim returned to his feet, Jacobs allegedly pulled out a knife, stepped on the victim’s foot, and slashed him across the chest. Jacobs fled from the platform through an emergency exit door that led to a parking lot alongside the station. The victim went to an NTPD Transit post in the station and told officers about the attack. The officers saw Jacobs walking in a nearby parking lot and apprehended him.
EMS transported the victim to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was treated for an approximately five-inch-long slash wound at the center of his chest.
“As alleged, an airport worker was attempting to get home on the subway when he was targeted in an unprovoked attack by this defendant,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The victim was allegedly slashed across the chest with a knife, beaten with a cane, and punched by Courtney Jacobs. Despite his extensive injuries, the victim was able to alert nearby police officers, who quickly apprehended the defendant.”
Jacobs was additionally charged with assault in the first and second degrees, two counts of robbery in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon. Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Michal Gaffey remanded Jacobs into custody without parole and ordered him to return to court on July 21. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
