An unconscious man randomly punched a female MTA worker in the face at a Midtown station, claiming he attacked her because “voices in my head were talking to me,” prosecutors say. .
According to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Robert Ray, 33, was on his way to the restroom at East 53rd Street and Lexington Hub in Manhattan around 6:05 a.m. on September 16 when he stopped to check the escalator. I followed the station staff.
Prosecutors said Ray ran up to the employee and punched her in the face, causing her to fall to the ground and leaving her with swelling and bruising.
The suspect fled, but was arrested later that day and charged with second-degree assault, a felony, officials said.
In an interview with detectives, Ray initially denied any wrongdoing and asked if he had any evidence and if he was going to jail, according to the indictment unsealed Thursday.
But he later changed his tune and claimed he never intended to hurt the workers, court documents revealed.
“I heard voices in my head and it made me angry.” [were] You’re talking to me,” he claimed. “I wasn't trying to hurt her and I don't have any feelings toward her. I was just angry.
“It was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt her. I only hit her once,” Ray continued, according to the indictment. “Is this a felony? How can this be a felony? But it was just a blow. Can we talk? [the] Victims, please tell them I'm sorry and I didn't do anything. ”
He was ordered held on $25,000 cash bail, a $50,000 insurance bond and a $100,000 partial surety bond, prosecutors said.
“As alleged, Robert Ray struck the MTA employee in an unprovoked attack that caused her to fall to the ground,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“Millions of New Yorkers depend on the hard work of MTA’s dedicated employees every day, and we continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to keep our transit system safe. I hope the victim continues to recover from this assault,” Bragg said.
On Tuesday, in another recent attack on an MTA employee, Jonathan Davalos, 27, was charged with attempted murder for brutally stabbing a 60-year-old male employee at Brooklyn Station after he asked him to disembark at a terminal stop. Police announced.
Davalos has a long rap sheet that includes an eerily similar assault and knife stabbing of a transit worker three years ago, authorities and officials said.
