A Brooklyn tow truck driver accused of attacking and killing a 61-year-old man whose impounded car was released Monday thanks to a loophole in the law, prosecutors said.
Kevon M. Johnson was accused of fatally hitting his head when Carlyle Thomas, 61, crashed into the sidewalk after an argument broke out over a $10 parking space at a Brownsville Shell gas station on Saturday. , 30, fired a single punch, authorities said. .
He was granted supervised release on a charge of third-degree assault at Monday’s arraignment, prosecutors said.
“The law only recognizes the punching charge, and there is no way to prove intent to cause death or other serious injury,” a law enforcement official told the Post, explaining the so-called low-level charge. . He is charged with one-punch murder.
Further working in Johnson’s favor, the misdemeanor charge has not been eligible for bail since statewide bail reform went into effect in 2020, officials said.
A friend of Thomas previously told the Post that the victim lived right next to the station on Clarkson Avenue and sometimes parked temporarily in the Shell parking lot.
On Saturday night, around 8:45 p.m., someone called Thomas to warn him that the gas station manager had called a tow truck and impounded his car, the friend said.
“He came running. When he opened the tow truck door, a guy hit him in the head. He fell down and bang!” the tipster said.
“Dead. He dies right in front of Pump 6. He never touches the guy, he just touches the door and the guy comes out and punches him.
“He’s a cool guy. He has a young son. Why would they do that to him! One punch? Kill him?!”
Thomas, a former jockey who worked at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, is survived by a son, daughter and step-son, his loved ones said.
His daughters-in-law told the Post that the gas station charges neighbors $10 to park overnight if they can’t find a place to park on the street. But Thomas said she had a relationship with the store and sometimes wouldn’t pay until he was done. he got his car.
“He didn’t pay right away because he’s lived here for a long time and has a relationship with them,” said his stepdaughter, Andrele Peters, when she found out her car was being towed. He added that he immediately went to investigate.
“He was arguing with a guy in a tow truck, and the next thing I heard, the guy hit him so hard that he fell to the floor and his heart stopped. The impact was so strong that it hit the floor and he was here… He died. He couldn’t get to the hospital, but the hospital is three minutes away.”
His other daughter-in-law, Alexis Peters, agrees.
“He always tried to help them in any way he could. And he paid for the parking! But sometimes, I mean, they’re friends, so he would pay after he got back. I did,” she said.
“Why did he have to die over ten bucks? He’s short, shorter than my sister here. He’s a little man, no need to hit him like that. Do I have to kill him for more than $10?!”
