NEW YORK, NY – During a pretrial hearing Wednesday in New York County Supreme Criminal Court, Judge Gregory Carro denied the defense’s request to release the accused under electric monitoring accompanied by post-release supervision.
The decision was made despite multiple assurances from the accused’s mother, who pledged to take responsibility for her daughter’s care and ensure her attendance at future court dates.
The court was also previously informed of the accused’s homelessness and financial inability to pay bail.
News outlets reported the accused was initially arrested in February 2024 for allegedly striking a street performer in the back of the head at the 34th Street-Herald Square Station.
The accused was taken to court the following day where Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Roberston requested the court to set her bail to $50,000, given the violent nature of her crime.
The defense argued at the initial hearing the accused be given supervised release because of a lack of significant criminal history. Judge Marva Brown agreed.
In March 2023, the accused was again seen in court for violating the terms of her supervised release when she was arrested for allegedly attempting to steal a Moncler hat from Nordstrom. Despite arguments from the prosecution urging the court to raise the bail to $10,000, Judge Brown set bail at $500.
On April 10, 2024, an arraignment was scheduled for the accused’s original assault charge. The accused initially pleaded guilty only for Deputy Public Defender Molly Kalmus to quickly intervene and prevent the accused from saying anything further.
Following a brief hushed conversation between DPD Kalmus and the accused in Judge Gregory Carro’s courtroom, the accused formally changed the plea to not guilty.
The prosecution subsequently urged the court to increase the bail bond to $15,000. DPD Kalmus in turn highlighted the accused’s homelessness and lack of a violent criminal history as substantial evidence for lowering the bail bond value to $1.
Ultimately, Judge Carro decided to increase the bail bond value to $10,000.
Originally, in Wednesday’s hearing, the defense was expected to change the status of the accused’s plea from not guilty to guilty, and the Manhattan DA’s office was prepared to provide a lower sentence in exchange for the guilty plea.
Unexpectedly, Deputy Public Defender Kalmus presented medical records of the accused, spanning 1,000 pages. The case was subsequently adjourned to Sept. 18 to give time for the prosecution to review the new documents.
DPD Kalmus made an additional application to have her client screened for electronic monitoring accompanied by supervised release, noting the accused’s mother is financially stable and fully compliant with electronic monitoring protocols.
The accused’s mother has also expressed that she is “willing to go the extra mile” to ensure the accused’s safety and secure their attendance at future court dates.
DPD Kalmus added the accused lacked a significant violent criminal background and, prior to her arrest in March, was given supervised release for this same assault case.
Judge Carro inquired about the age of the accused, to which the defense responded that she was 23 years old. The accused then interjected, happily declaring that her birthday is in the next six months and adding that she is a Sagittarius.
After a quick sidebar between Judge Carro, DPD Kalmus and the Assistant District Attorney Judge Carro ultimately denied DPD Kalmus’s requests and proceeded to adjourn the case until Sept. 18.
