A career criminal was arrested Sunday for allegedly beating a woman in a random attack on a Brooklyn subway car, but was back on the streets the next day thanks to New York’s lax bail laws.
Michael Crosland, 68, is accused of multiple assaults on a 39-year-old woman who was riding the Q train at the Stillwell Avenue station around 7:30 a.m., according to police and a criminal complaint. was indicted on charges of.
According to the complaint, the suspect allegedly punched the victim in the right shoulder several times and kicked him in the abdomen several times.
After the attack, the maniac set several documents on fire inside the subway car and then set fire to a garbage can on the platform, according to the complaint.
The victim told the Post that he was on his way to the gym when a thug appeared out of nowhere and yelled, “Hey, get out!”
But another woman on the train with her wasn’t sure if he was just joking.
“After a few times he said, ‘Get out of here,’ and we thought he was just trying to fool around. So we ignored him,” said an anonymous source. The victim, who requested this, said:
“And he started throwing kicks. Yeah, he was kicking me in the stomach. He was throwing kicks and punches. Three kicks, four kicks, and I was like, ‘Hey, this. “This is serious, you understand?” he looked at her. He’s not playing. ”
At one point, another girl boarded the train and witnessed the unprovoked assault.
“She got scared and said, ‘This man is possessed.'” The victim recalled that the heavy jacket she was wearing caused her injuries.
The suspect was charged with third-degree assault, attempted third-degree assault, two counts of attempted arson, and two counts of disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors.
Crosland, who has at least 25 other arrests, was released during his arraignment in Brooklyn court on Monday and was placed on supervised release because none of the charges are eligible for bail, sources told the Post. Told.
The victim, who lives in Brighton Beach, said he is likely to give up on taking trains at Stilwell Station in the future because he might pass by Crosland, who lives in Coney Island.
“There’s a chance he remembers me,” said the victim, who moved to the Big Apple from Oklahoma two years ago.
“If he went to jail, it would probably be good for him,” she said, adding that the suspect encouraged the straphanger to call police and did not resist arrest. “I think he wants to go to prison too.”
Most of Crosland’s previous arrests date back decades, and most were drug-related, officials said.
His most recent past arrest was in August 2009 for unauthorized use of a vehicle. Sources say he was arrested on assault charges in Brooklyn in 1999.
