Yonkers cop, mayor criticize county judge who released man who punched officer

A Westchester County judge released the man who broke a Yonkers cop's nose without bail after the defense lawyer said he had been disoriented at the time of the attack and the man said he was trying to turn his life around and find a job.

Yonkers police and Mayor Mike Spano expressed outrage that Judge Maurice Dean Williams set no bail for Johnny McCray on Sept. 8, two days after McCray seemingly sucker-punched the officer as police and EMTs were trying to help him. A second cop suffered a minor knee injury in the subsequent scuffle to subdue McCray.

Spano called the attack on the officer "the very definition of insanity" and Detective Keith Olson, president of the Yonkers PBA and of the Affiliated Police Associations of Westchester, said McCray was a "menace to society" and the judge's decision "appalling".

"The justice system is consistently bailing out criminal offenders," Spano said this week in a statement. "This Officer is now out on leave and not able to do his job, while this offender is able to continue to make a living. How can any reasonable person expect that we can protect the public if we can’t even protect our Police Officers?"

McCray, 39, had only been out of jail for six days after serving a sentence for misdemeanor assault. He was also still on parole after serving five years for a 2017 attempted robbery, his third stint in state prison.

On the night of Sept. 6, police responded to Yonkers Avenue near Cypress Street on a report of a man down on the sidewalk. They helped McCray into an ambulance and urged him to stay there when he tried to get out. At one point he asked "Where am I?" and then punched one of the officers in the nose

He was charged with second-degree assault and a city judge on Sept. 7 ordered McCray held without bail at the county jail.

His Legal Aid lawyers sought a bail hearing in county court the next day, which Williams conducted virtually, according to a transcript.

Defense lawyer Vincent De Marte told the judge that McCray had been jumped and knocked unconscious after getting off a bus and when he came to as the officers and EMTs were helping him "he started fighting thinking he was still under attack."

De Marte said McCray, a father of six who lives with his fiancee in Tarrytown, is a lifelong county resident with no money to pay bail.

Assistant District Attorney John Thomas asked for $75,000 cash bail, $150,000 bond or $300,000 partially secured bond that would have required McCray to come up with $30,000.

He cited the possibility that McCray's three prior violent felonies make him eligible for a mandatory prison term that could include a maximum of life. And he emphasized that one of the warrants he has had for failing to appear in court was related to his most recent assault conviction. He only showed up seven months later because he was arrested for criminal contempt, Thomas said.

While defendants don't normally speak at bail applications, McCray told the judge he was sorry for what happened and that he had a scheduled interview for a job at a bakery. He said he has had treatment for substance abuse and anger management.

"I want to say that I apologize to everyone. I really am. I'm sorry," he said, according to the transcript. "I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know what was going on. I really, really, really like want to change my life. I had issues all my life. I finally got to a point in my life and I want to change and do good for the community."

Williams said his responsibility was to decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether a defendant "poses a risk of flight to avoid prosecution."

He acknowledged the significant prison time McCray could face if convicted and that he committed his crime despite being on parole.

"Notwithstanding that, given the facts and circumstances (giving) rise to this altercation or the circumstances leading to this defendant's arrest, this Court is going to decline to set monetary bail," the judge said.

Williams ordered McCray to be fitted for a GPS anklet but would not subject him to home confinement.

"To the extent that this defendant can try to get gainful employment, I don't want there to be any impediment...in the sense that he can make a contribution to society," the judge said.

He gave McCray until his scheduled court appearance in Yonkers on Sept. 12 to get the monitoring device. McCray did show up for that and it was fitted on him.

Bail reform in New York in recent years has limited cases that are bail eligible and requires judges to focus on whether a defendant will return to court and not whether they pose a danger. The outrage of Spano and police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza seemed to focus on the latter and on eventual punishment, with the mayor saying "we need to step up and re-commit to keep those proven to hurt and plague the community in jail where they belong."

"If we continue to tell offenders that crime, especially violent crime, is not taken seriously by the decisions made in our courts, we can be sure that judges’ inaction and gentle approach to punishing repeat felons will severely undermine and limit the effectiveness of any crime-fighting strategy,” Sapienza said.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers police, mayor angered by release of defendant who punched cop