NEW YORK — The man accused of stomping a 65-year-old Asian woman on a Hell’s Kitchen sidewalk was freed from prison 16 months ago after doing time for the savage 2002 stabbing murder of his mom, authorities said Wednesday.
Numerous tips to the NYPD Crime Stoppers line after the Monday assault steered cops to Brandon Elliot, 38, who was hit with assault as a hate crime and other charges after his Wednesday arrest at 1:10 a.m. A shocking video captured Elliot kicking the smaller, elderly victim to the ground before planting his foot into the helpless woman three times and walking away.
Elliot was shown “brutally shoving, kicking and stomping (the victim) after telling her she didn’t belong her,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. “This brave woman belongs here.”
The accused attacker’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Wednesday.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea raised questions about Elliot’s early release from prison while serving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. He was paroled Nov. 4, 2019 after his conviction for plunging a kitchen knife three times into his mother’s heart inside their Eastchester home.
“For the life of me, I don’t understand why we are releasing, pushing people out of prisons, not to give them a second chances but to put them into homeless facilities or shelters ... and expect good outcomes out of that,” said Shea. “We need real safety nets. Just pushing people out, and to think we’re doing a good deed, I think is misguided.”
The latest in a wave of hate crimes targeting Asians sent shock waves across the city thanks to a viral video showing the assailant’s beatdown of the victim.
Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang praised the NYPD’s prompt arrest of Elliot after the attack video spread across the five boroughs.
“Like many New Yorkers, I’m grateful that this person is no longer on our streets,” Yang said Wednesday. “I think we all saw the brutal attack on a defenseless elderly woman.”
Elliot was nabbed for the hate crime at the Four Points by Sheraton, a hotel-turned-homeless-shelter on W. 40th Street — just a few blocks from where he allegedly attacked his victim, according to police. Elliot was among the homeless men housed by the city at the hotel.
“What could possibly go wrong?” Shea said about dumping parolees into homeless shelters. “Well, this is what goes wrong. It never should happen.”
Elliot’s victim was nearing Ninth Avenue on W. 43rd Street in Hell’s Kitchen on her way to church about 11:40 a.m. Monday when the suspect rushed up to her and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. He fled from the scene and the victim was taken to NYU Langone Hospital in stable condition.
“F--- you,” he reportedly told the woman. “You don’t belong here.”
The video released by police ends with a doorman at 360 W. 43rd St. closing the door after seeing the woman on the ground and her attacker walking away.
The union workers inside the building were suspended pending further investigation, prompting an outpouring of criticism from New Yorkers who viewed the damning clip.
“I fully understand people’s anger,” Shea said. “I can’t put myself in those employees’ (shoes). I don’t know if they were scared. My focus is on the victim, and my focus is on the individual. Let’s not lose sight of who is responsible.”
Shea said detectives were backtracking Elliot’s movements over the last several days to see if he was responsible for any other crimes in the Manhattan neighborhood.
