Homeless man with 40 prior arrests busted for slugging Asian woman: cops
A homeless career criminal was charged Tuesday with slugging an Asian woman in Chinatown — as the city’s fed-up top cop decried a revolving-door legal system that leaves New Yorkers “at risk.”
Alexander Wright, 48, was hit with charges including assault as a hate crime for the unprovoked, caught-on-camera attack Monday that left the 55-year-old woman hospitalized, cops said.
The arrest adds to a rap sheet that includes a staggering 40 prior arrests — with five, including Monday’s, within the past year.
“What are we doing in society when we are releasing these people right back onto the streets?” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea raged during an appearance Tuesday on NY1. “It’s putting New Yorkers at risk.”
In bolstering his case, Shea also pointed out another ambush of an Asian woman, this one on Friday at a subway station — saying the suspect in that case was free to commit the crime despite racking up dozens of prior arrests.
The victim in Monday’s attack was walking on Bayard Street at around 6:15 p.m. when Wright allegedly cocked back his left hand and decked her with a single blow to the face, video shows.
Passersby rushed to the woman’s aid as nearby cops nabbed Wright, described by police sources as a resident of a Wards Island shelter who also goes by “Disney,” and has had three past run-ins with cops as an “emotionally disturbed person.”
After the attack, Wright appeared to try to pin the blame on the victim.
“He hit me!” the suspect yells in a video of his arrest posted to YouTube, apparently referring to the female victim.
“Nobody hit you!” a woman standing nearby shoots back. “You hit the lady!”
“So how did I get this on me?” counters Wright, as he holds up his wrist to the camera.
Wright, who also was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance for allegedly carrying synthetic marijuana, was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
He has been nabbed within the past year on charges including second-degree assault, harassment and felony criminal mischief, police said.
In one of those cases, Wright is accused of punching a 72-year-old man in the face at a bus stop in The Bronx. He also allegedly tossed hot coffee at two traffic agents in Midtown on Jan. 27 — for which he was busted on May 10.
Wright was awaiting a court appearance late Tuesday on his most recent arrest.
It was not immediately clear if he had legal counsel.
The victim, meanwhile, was brought to NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where she was in stable condition.
The assault came as New York’s Asian-American communities are on edge over a recent spate of attacks often attributed to hate-filled views on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virginia Chu, an Upper West Sider visiting her mom Tuesday in Chinatown, became choked up as she talked about the latest incident.
“I grew up here,” she said. “It just pains me and it doesn’t get easier every time I hear about this. This isn’t just our problem, it’s everybody’s problem.”
During the NY1 segment, Shea divulged details about another recent attack, drawing parallels to that suspect and Wright.
“Friday, we had a 65-year-old Asian woman brutally pushed down the stairs in the transit system at 34th Street,” he said. “What’s the common denominator? People that are arrested multiple, multiple, multiple times and released.”
Police identified the suspect in that case as John Chappell, charged with assault.
Chappell, 64, was previously busted last December for allegedly punching a 68-year-old woman without provocation in the Herald Square subway station, breaking her nose.
At the time of that attack, cops and sources described Chappell as a homeless man with 77 prior arrests, including for assault and reckless endangerment.
But he was simply issued a desk- appearance ticket and cut loose.
Shea on Tuesday bemoaned the system that freed Chappell in December to allegedly strike again — and said that the same outcome had followed Friday’s bust.
“We’re arresting somebody for pushing a woman down the stairs and then we release them back into the street?” he said. “I mean, this is crazy.
“We need help on some of these laws,” he continued. “We cannot be chasing our tail, catch-and-release, catch-and-release.”
Rebecca Isabelle Heinsen, a Legal Aid Society lawyer representing Chappell in multiple ongoing matters. including the two assault cases, said that criminal-justice reform was not to blame for his latest release.
“This was a bail-eligible case,” she said. “The prosecutor requested $200,000 in cash bail.
“Let’s not forget, he’s presumed innocent. These are accusations right now.”
Additional reporting by Aaron Feis
