QUEENS, N.Y. — An accused man charged with robbing and injuring a business partner at a bar the two men jointly own was arraigned Wednesday in Queens Criminal Court, where his defense attorney questioned how a co-owner could be charged with breaking into and robbing his own establishment.
The accused was arraigned on six felony counts and one misdemeanor, all arising from a June 5 incident at the bar, according to court records. The top charge is second-degree robbery causing physical injury, a Class C felony. The accused is also charged with third-degree robbery, a Class D felony; four counts of fourth-degree grand larceny involving a credit card, each a Class E felony; and one count of third-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor.
He was arrested June 23—more than two weeks after the June 5 incident—by officers from the New York Police Department’s 110th Precinct, according to court records.
The robbery and larceny counts rest on allegations that the accused broke into the bar and stole from it. But the bar is jointly owned by the accused and the complainant, a point his defense attorney, Deputy Public Defender Isabel Macquarrie, emphasized at arraignment. DPD Macquarrie argued the accused has no history of violence and questioned how a person could be accused of breaking into—and robbing—a business that is half his own.
That argument goes to the heart of what Court Watch observers call overcharging: when the counts filed appear more serious than the conduct described. Robbery, under New York law, requires the forcible taking of another person’s property, and whether a joint owner can be said to have stolen from a business in which he holds an equal ownership interest is precisely the question the felony charges leave unanswered. The only count alleging an injury on its own—third-degree assault—is a misdemeanor, yet the same alleged encounter is also charged as two separate robbery felonies.
Despite the defense’s objection, Judge Indira Khan issued a full order of protection requiring the accused to stay away from the complainant entirely. Because the two are joint owners who work together, the order carries a consequence well beyond the courtroom: It bars the accused from the bar he half owns and from the business partner with whom he ordinarily works. The accused is left unable to access his own livelihood while the case is pending.
Judge Khan set bail at $3,500 cash, a $7,000 insured bond or a $7,000 partially secured surety bond. Court records indicate bail was posted, meaning the accused was released.
The Queens County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The accused pleaded not guilty to all counts. The matter was adjourned to Friday, June 26.
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