NY Daily News
The Brooklyn district attorney's office refused to accept the surrender of two Jewish men accused of beating an unarmed black man in Crown Heights in exchange for more lenient charges, sources told the Daily News.

A lawyer with more than 30 years' experience dealing with the Hasidic community tried to broker the deal, sources said Wednesday.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes turned the lawyer away, electing to have a grand jury continue to probe the April 14 attack on Andrew Charles, a 20-year-old college student.

DA: No deal for Jews accused in attack on black man in Crown Heights

NY Daily News

The Brooklyn district attorney’s office refused to accept the surrender of two Jewish men accused of beating an unarmed black man in Crown Heights in exchange for more lenient charges, sources told the Daily News.

A lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience dealing with the Hasidic community tried to broker the deal, sources said Wednesday.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes turned the lawyer away, electing to have a grand jury continue to probe the April 14 attack on Andrew Charles, a 20-year-old college student.

“This kid was first Maced and then hit by someone with a nightstick,” a source said. “It is not a misdemeanor assault no matter how you cut it.”

Charles, a sophomore at Kingsborough Community College, was walking along Albany Ave. when a white attacker on a bicycle sprayed him with Mace, police sources said.

A GMC Envoy then pulled up and a second man got out and hit Charles, the son of city cop, in the back and arm with a nightstick, police said.

An adviser to the Charles family said both attackers were wearing yarmulkes.

George Farkas, the lawyer who attempted to cut the deal with the DA’s office, said he was trying to defuse the situation.

“I don’t know who did it, and I didn’t represent to anyone that I have the power to surrender anyone,” Farkas said. “What I did do is point out the perception in the community of special treatment in this case.

”Would there be a grand jury if the kid’s father was not a cop? I think we know what the answer is,” he said.

A spokesman for Hynes declined to comment.

Hynes impaneled the grand jury after community sources said Charles’ attackers were part of Shmira, an anti-crime Crown Heights neighborhood patrol. The patrol was allegedly in the area the night of the attack answering complaints from Jewish residents that black youths, ages 11 to 13, had been hurling rocks into their yards.

Witnesses to the assault have not cooperated.

The investigative grand jury can bring perjury charges against witnesses who refuse to reveal what they saw.

26 Comments

  • Adam

    Perhaps someone should bring a suit against Mr. Hynes for racial discrimination.

  • sh

    Nobody’s been arrested and there hasn’t been a trial so how can they be accused?

  • Pentax

    Good… They beat another human
    being like that, they deserve to rot
    in jail for a longggg time. It
    doesn’t matter their religion or
    even what the victim was doing before
    he was beaten (they are not cops and
    they broke the LAW PERIOD.).

  • MJ

    Why don’t we throw back at Hynes (with a slight modification), what he is always parroting when speaking at Jewish functions: “Tzedek, tzedek, tear, DOOFUS!”

  • Sick of it all

    I hope this is the begining of what will ultimately bring down the unjust, biased, self serving reign of DA Hynes.
    Soon there will be a probe into how this all went down, and the years of neglect and bias towards the law abiding citizens of CH in favor of headlines and future votes.
    I hope that the DA’s actions do not bring more violence into the community in the meantime.

  • Curious

    One simple question…why, why in the world did these guys beat this kid up?

    Why? What was the motivation? Am I crazy for being curious why two Lubavitchers would go beat someone up?

    Why did they do it?

  • Just Wondering

    “Witnesses to the assault have not cooperated.”

    Was it not going around (even comments on this site) that the Goyim were throwing rock. Some cementers wrote it like it was a fact of life. Some said that they know some one that knows some one that saw it happened.
    If that was true (that they were throwing rocks) then were the witnesses? Why, if there are witnesses are they not stepping up to the plate?
    Not they may, but they will save there fellow Jews from going to jail g-d forbid!

    Or maybe just maybe there are no witnesses, or maybe just maybe the witnesses just sew a bunch of Yiddin beating up a Goy (for no apparent reason).

  • Let-s look at the facts

    It’s clear that the coward Hynes is taking shots at what he feels is a vulnerable target in order win black votes in the next election. And the NYPD rocket scientists are complicit in this. Evidently some contributors to this blog think a few more years of Hynes bias (remember how he threw the nelson case?) is a good idea. This was a minor case with no permanent or even serious injury and no racial slurs reported. This community had better unite and be steadfast against this pandering weasel of a DA and his buddies.

  • shmuli

    if the witnesses come foward that they saw the goy throwing stones, then the grand jury will force them to also identify the attackers. and then da hynes will will be able to charge them with whatever charges he feels like

  • MJ

    “Let’s look:” That’s the next thing I was going to say. Instead of a grand jury, why doesn’t he have the Nelson prosecution team bring the accused to justice?

  • boruch ben Tzvi(A H)hakohaine hoffinger

    B“H
    Pentax and similar; you are fools.
    Did you ever hear of Jews arbitrarily beating up Blacks in Crown Heights?
    There’s a good chance that he was throwing rocks but he certainly won’t admit it.
    Hynes is looking for power and money.
    Pentax and others are cowards. Afraid to write their names.
    You also are rebelling against the Rebbe, MH”M because any defamatory statements about Jews without a name is a ‘pashkvil.’
    Beware of the American system of ‘justice.’ You might not get justice even if you come forward.
    Grand Juries can be dangerous things. Dangerous to those that they investigate and dangerous to the idea of justice.

  • maddinsanecrazy

    the ch mossrim ganiv patrol formely known as shmira must be taken off the streets. even today mossrim patrol member ephraim okonov went to the 71 pricint claiming people were out to kill him(even with stern and prager protecting him?) after his family threatened to disown him if he did not disassociate himself with the ch mossrim patrol he admitted to detectives of pressing false charges. mr hynes is going after the wrong people, he needs to go after the leadership of the mossrim patrol who send young people with obvious various psych disorders on their jihad.

  • Moshiach Now

    I once went into a store and a shvartze hit me in the head for no reason. I had some mace on me so I sprayed it, the cop said don’t even bother making a report becuase the shvartze will say you started and then who knows who will be believed.

    That’s the world we live in.

  • Eliyahu

    FOR ALL THE HUNDREDS OF DEADLY ASSAULTS THAT THE BLACK COMMUNITY HAS CAUSED ON THE UNDERDOG CHASSIDIC COMMUNITY — WHY WOULD HYNES PICK A NEEDLE OUT OF A ROTTING HAYSTACK AND BRING IT OUT TO THE OPEN FOR ALL TO SEE? Judge Hynes must treat this case in the most professional, unbiased way that the New York Law System has abided him to do. He must be steadfast in the face of black criticism and black media. Got the picture?

  • Pentax

    OMG I can’t believe some of these comments… SO WHAT if they were throwing rocks, does that mean these people were above the law and can beat a guy with a nightstick and pepperspray.. You people live in a fantasy world (like it revolves around you or something).

    He was throwing rocks SO CALL THE COPS…

  • ld

    To Just wondering, the cops didn’t want to listen about the fact that Andrew Charles throw stones at Jews, so on the report the cops didn’t write it, even though there are witnesses both Black and Jewish that Andrew Charles throw stones at Jews.

  • visitor

    Its a befeirushe misna… ilmolei moraa ish ess re-eihu…… if there’s no leadership in the community the community will deteriorate more and more. Where are the all-powerful rabonim – the solution to all probelms – that the community worshipped for so long? Where are the mashpiim who have been preeching moshiach but not mentchlichkeit? all the answers are in torah. You just have to be humble enough to see it.
    until people in crown heights grow up, the churbon will continue. the chilul hashem with continue. the shame brought to the rebbe will continue.
    To the residents if the shchuno i say, wake the #$%^& up!! you’re on the titanic!!! this problem will NOT go away by itself.
    Zol der oibershter rachmonus hubben!!

  • The real story..

    Supposedly he was first sprayed by s guy on a bike and was then beat by someone else with a nightstick. He somehow was able to know that BOTH of them were wearing yarmulka’s. How did he see the 2nd guys yarmulka after being sprayed with mace by the first guy? I might imagine that he was able to make out that the second guy was also white, but to actually have the time and clarity to look for and identify a yarmulka? He must have been wearing goggles. And why was he wearing goggles you ask? Well thats simple – he was afraid the rocks he was throwing would ricochet off the passing cars and hit him in the eyes. Either that, or he planned on going swimming in a puddle that was left by the last rainstorm in that big pothole on the block. Either way these guys deserve punishment for not letting him go swimming!

  • Stupid PENTAX

    we see incidents all the time of jews being attacked in more severe ways than this incident and the police are reluctent to press charges and make a big deal out of it
    dont you see something weard that an obviously isolated incident of a black being atacked by a “guy wearing a yarmulka”is blown out of proportion
    the mace didnt reach the victim and he wasnt at all injured in a serious way.
    wake up! a citizen has the right to defend himself! (i dont know what happened in this specific case)
    If you see someone throwing rocks in your neighborhood calling the cops and waiting around till they come is irresponsible esspecially in a neighborhood where yidden getting attacked by blacks unfotunately is not uncommon!

  • Moshie

    Why do Hasidic Jewish people refer to African Americans as “schwartzes?” Isn’t this word a slang term usually used unfavorably?

    There are African Americans who are Jewish, in fact some are even Lubavitch. Are they “schwartzes” or “Jews?”

    I think it is terrible that parents also allow their yungerliet to use the word “schwartze.” I only allow use of the word is all of the conversation is in Yiddish. “Schwartz” means “black” and if you are speaking to me in English, I insist that you use all your words in English.

  • The Rebbe-s Shliach

    Despite the hatred that some may foster against Shmira and/or the individuals involved, this is a textbook case of Jews being persecuted and being unable to get a fair trial.

    If anyone dares to masser on these individuals, no matter what the reasons, their punishment from shomayim will be a severe punishment indeed.

  • A Lawyer

    This situation is very serious because the investigative grand jury strips us of our constitutional right to remain silent. Witnesses are forced to testify before the grand jury or be held in contempt. Then, in exchange for immunity from prosecution the witnesses no longer have the right to remain silent under the theory that there is no self-incrimination because immunity was granted. Supreme Court justices differ as to the constitutionality of this, but right now the majority permits it. Were this a murder or rape case it would be more understandable for the DA to invoke this questionable practice. However, for this methodology to be used in this case smacks of a political attack on our entire community and it should be exposed for exactly what it is.

  • PENTAX

    i only wrote the first comment but oh yes i do approve the rest of them.

    have a wonderful week end MY DEAR PEOPLE!