Blame 'fight club' atmosphere for trans migrant beating at Randall's Island shelter, lawyer says
Published in News & Features
Xavier Pacheco, 32, was arraigned in the early Monday morning. He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to be back in court on May 30.
A fifth man, Carlos Maiz Betancourt, 23, was arrested on the same charges.
The incident is not the first time violence has broken out at the massive tent shelter, which can house 2,000 single adults.
In February, video showed a rowdy group of migrants yelling and throwing objects, including a backpack, at NYPD officers as they made an arrest inside the shelter.
In January, a melee outside the shelter escalated to the point where a 24-year-old man was stabbed in the neck.
Two weeks before that, a migrant dad living at the shelter was murdered by another resident in a dispute over a woman, according to police.
In the wake of the attacks, Mayor Eric Adams announced he planned to install metal detectors on the site. A curfew restricting access to the site from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. began last month.
_____
©2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Comments