|
A Message from the District Attorney…
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
I want to bring to your attention three significant public safety developments that have caused profound concern in the Westchester community, each of them involving our colleagues in public service.
On Wednesday, my office arraigned Thywill Anasu, of Manhattan, for allegedly committing a brutal, chokehold assault against an M.T.A. bus driver, after the two had gotten into a minor accident on the Yonkers-Bronx border.
The defendant is accused of placing the bus driver in a chokehold and throwing him to the ground before delivering multiple closed-fist punches. The bus driver suffered a brain bleed and was later transported to Jacobi Hospital, where he has been recovering for nearly a week. We charged Anasu with Assault in the Second Degree, and bail was set by the Yonkers City Court judge at $5,000 cash.
Also on Wednesday, my office arrested and charged a Mount Vernon police officer named Brandon Hunter-Carney in connection with an alleged check-fraud scheme. According to court records, in 2023, Hunter-Carney cashed a stolen check worth over $800,000 that had been intended for an Alabama-based manufacturer of industrial machinery.
Mere days before the check was cashed, a new business entity had been incorporated in New York bearing an identical name as the Alabama business, and with Hunter-Carney listed as the sole incorporator, according to New York Department of State business records.
We are vigorously pursuing both of these cases, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
On Thursday, my office obtained a guilty plea from Joseph Spennato, of Armonk, for his 2024 assault on North Castle Sgt. William McClure. When police were called to assist a 78-year-old woman in need of medical care, Spennato, who was present on scene, stabbed Sgt. McClure in the back multiple times with a knife. Thankfully, the knife struck Sgt. McClure’s ballistic vest, sparing the worst-possible outcome. But for his preparation, these events could have taken a drastically different turn.
Any attack on our law enforcement brethren is an attack on all of us. It goes to show how an unsuspecting call for medical assistance can turn, without warning, into a life-threatening confrontation.
All of these developments took place over the course of the past week, and this is not an atypical week for a prosecutorial office representing over one million residents. These cases are representative of the work performed on a daily basis by our hundreds of assistant district attorneys, criminal investigators, paralegals, analysts, accountants and clerical staff.
Since day one, my administration has prioritized, without exception, the safety of our partners in public service, and we will seek to hold accountable anyone who betrays the public’s trust. On that, you have my word.
As always, if you have any feedback you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you. Never hesitate to reach out, and I look forward to keeping in touch.
|
