Miquiel Guerrero: Bronx man FREED despite video of him hitting victim with knuckle dusters
A Bronx man was reportedly freed on a misdemeanor charge after he was filmed brutally beating up a 53-year-old man while wearing knuckle dusters despite having crashed into the victim's car.
23-year-old Miquiel Guerrero was arrested on March 30 after he and five others surrounded the victim and his car after they crashed into each other on Exterior Street in the Grand Concourse neighborhood. Guerrero was subsequently caught on camera assaulting his victim with knuckle dusters while his pals jumped on the latter's car and stole it. The van driver didn't fight back. Despite the horrific violence meted out on the alleged victim, Guerrero was let back into the streets and is due back in court on May 23 on a misdemeanor charge.
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The group was seen in surveillance footage crowding the victim before one jumped on top of the car. Guerrero then opened the driver's door and began violently punching the victim. The perp, per police records, wrapped a metal object around his knuckles while laying a beating on the man, who was left with a shattered left eye and bruising in the face, nose, and back. That said, authorities did not confirm what the object Guerrero used was, or if he has any prior convictions.
As reported by the New York Post, the 53-year-old man was seen running away from the scene before two of the attackers entered his Kia and drove off with it. Three perps broke into an unoccupied Honda that was caught in the crash, and Guerrero stayed on the scene for unknown reasons. Police later arrested him and charged him with assault, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, and harassment. Authorities are now looking for the other members in the group, who are reportedly aged between 18 and 25. Meanwhile, the victim was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where he was treated for a fractured eye socket and facial cuts.
This comes as New York is plagued with a crime uptick in recent months, with overall crime up 42 percent. Carjacking in the Big Apple is up by 68 percent and felony assaults have risen by 21 percent. As the crime wave continued to terrorize New Yorkers, NYC Police Commissioner Keechant L Sewell said earlier this month that "this is not what New Yorkers expect or deserve, and we will not stand for it." She added, "It's clear what we are confronting: A perception among criminals that there are no consequences, even for serious crimes. We need tangible changes."
NYC Mayor Eric Adams recently vowed to crack down on transit crimes, which are also up more than 60 percent, as well as on lazy officers patrolling subway stations. During a press conference on Tuesday, April 26, a journalist asked the mayor to comment on reports of multiple uniformed cops spotted browsing their phones while on duty guarding the city's transport network.
"We are going to start taking very aggressive actions to make sure police are patrolling our subway system and not patrolling their iPhone," Adams responded. "If you see it, send me a picture. I'll go to that district the next day and see exactly what is happening." The former NYPD captain insisted that New Yorkers can look forward to a "visible difference in policing in the next couple of weeks."