Boro Park Cabby Given a $15,000 Bail

Cabby that beat Lipa Schwartz, 62, in Boro Park which caused officials to demand better policing of hate crimes, has been given a bail option of $15,000

by crownheights.info

As previously published on Crownheights.info, the Jewish man was walking to Shul on 13th Avenue near 46 Street, carrying his Tallis and Tefillin. Suddenly, a vehicle screeched to a halt, the driver, Farrukh Afzal, 37, got out, and ran towards the victim. He began punching him in his face and screaming at him. The man broke free and began running, but the suspect once again assaulted him in front of TD Bank.

The driver was arrested, and though originally charged with a hate crime, was ultimately changed to a road rage incident following the drivers claim of a previous incident.

Video that surfaced the next day showed a different story, including erratic driving, an attempt to run another person over, and no prior incident.

Farrukh Afzal has been given a $15,000 bail option by a Brooklyn judge. Coincidentally, the judge who presided over his hearing was Ruchie Frier, a frum Judge and leader of Ezras Nashim, the all woman first response organization.

Edit: An earlier version of the article had in error that Farrukh Afzal had been let out on bail. Farrukh is still in police custody as he has been unable to post his bail.

15 Comments

  • עזרת אנשים

    Let the anoshim deal with anoshim.

    She can deal with her fellow noshim.

  • Larry

    That’s the problem when you have a religious person trying a case you want to show you’re not byis.Pass it on to another judge

    • oren

      jurors are dismissed from a case where they are nogea b’dovor. this should have been here in this story too.

    • Milhouse

      When there’s a black victim or defendant, blacks are not allowed to be excluded from the jury, black judges do not recuse themselves, and no lawyer would ever ask one to. The same applies to yidden; just because the victim or the defendant is a Jew doesn’t disqualify Jewish jurors or judges.

  • RIGHT!

    She should have recused herself. He only had to come up with $1500. If G-d forbid he attacks someone else, Yid or Goy, it will be on HER head.

  • Ma Rabbi

    This was a big mistake on her part.
    The criminal had a record of 8 violent incidents.
    She could easily have refused to grant bail.
    At the least she could have set a very high bail.
    She is a member of the Democratic party.
    They own her and they told her what to do.

  • Milhouse

    Bail is a right, not a privilege that a judge hands out as a favor. The only reason to hold a person who has not yet been found guilty of anything is to make sure he comes back for his trial. If $15,000 is enough to ensure that then no judge has the right to keep him locked up.

    You tell me he’s been arrested 8 times before? But how many times has he been convicted of anything? None? Then what difference does it make if he’s been arrested 80 times, or 800? An arrest doesn’t mean he did anything wrong.

  • what was she to do!?

    poor woman!
    now that she is a federal judge, she must act according
    to civil law, and not her own feelings.

  • She doesnt choose this

    Sorry but the decision of hate crime or not is decided by a grand jury. The judge could have set higher bail, but the legal system works on precedent. You have to have some legitimate basis for imposing a drastically higher bail than typical, and if there is no hate crime, as per grand jury, then it’s very hard to justify such action. I don’t like it as much as anyone else, but this is the system. He’ll get what’s coming to him though, that’s for sure. Vnokom yoshiv ltzorov

  • hopeful

    IF IT WAS HER FATHER, HUSBAND, BROTHER OR SON CHV WOULD SHE HAVE DEALT WITH IT THE SAME WAY? JUST ASKING.

    • Milhouse

      If he immediate relative were involved she would recuse herself, but she would absolutely expect whichever judge handled it to do the same thing: set a reasonable bail that will make sure the person returns for trial, no more. $15,000 is high.