A Crown Heights man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for attacking a 44-year-old man and slashing him in the face when the victim attempted to break up a fight on a subway car, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Monday.
The defendant pleaded guilty in June for the assault, which left the victim requiring 100 stitches to close a wound on the left side of his face, according to a press release.
“Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for a vicious and unprovoked attack of a stranger riding the subway," Gonzalez said. "The fact that the victim was simply acting as a Good Samaritan makes the defendant’s behavior in this case especially appalling. We will never tolerate violence in the subway system.”
In a news release, the District Attorney identified the defendant as Sean Lewis, 34, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The defendant was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jane Tully to seven years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted assault on June 11.
According to the evidence, on May 10, 2023, at approximately 9:40pm, the defendant was fighting another man on a southbound C train in Brooklyn.
When the victim, 44, tried to intervene, the defendant turned his attention to him. The victim retreated to the other end of the subway car. As the train pulled into the Franklin Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the defendant approached the victim and said, “Thank you.” He pulled out a sharp object and slashed the victim in the face.
The defendant was captured on surveillance footage and arrested on May 18, 2023.
