But prosecutors said that the victim did hear the man, Amrit Marajh, 28, of Brooklyn, and his friends talking about the knockout game. During the altercation, prosecutors said, Mr. Marajh said to the victim, “I’ll knock you out.”
Mr. Marajh was in court on Saturday evening for an arraignment hearing on assault and harassment charges. Mr. Marajh, who works as a barber, was released on $ 750 bail.
Mr. Marajh had been celebrating his birthday with friends when the assault occurred, his lawyer, James Kirshner, said. He had never even heard of the game, Mr. Kirshner said.
“This case has blown out of proportion because of The Knockout Game,” Mr. Kirshner said.
Residents feared that the attack was part of the game, but the New York police had cautioned that they were still trying to determine whether it was a real problem or an urban myth.
The attack took place around 2:45 a.m. on Friday on the border of Borough Park in Brooklyn. A 24-year-old man, whom officials have not named, was suddenly boxed in by a group of men and punched by one of them, the police said.
Three other men were questioned in the attack and released.
The police had announced on Friday night that Mr. Marajh was charged with a hate crime, but prosecutors on Saturday said he had been charged with assault, harassment and menacing.
After he was released, Mr. Marajh expressed anger over the accusations. He said he had exchanged no words with the injured man.
“My girlfriend’s Jewish,” he said outside the courthouse. “I never hit the guy. They try to say it’s a hate crime. Why is it that I was the one arrested for this?”
Whatever the reason for the man’s injuries, many people in Jewish communities in Brooklyn were worried that more attacks could follow. A girls’ high school in Midwood canceled a Friday evening event because parents were concerned about students’ safety.
Yahoo Local News – New York Times
http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info/?p=17849
via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info
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