Man Arrested for Punching 9-Year-Old Girl is Remanded on $100,000 Bail
A man was arrested on April 13 for punching a nine-year-old girl in Grand Central Terminal, as he approached her without any provocation. He is now remanded on $100,000 bail following arraignment on April 15, according to the Manhattan DA. The suspect was previously accused of punching a 56-year-old woman on April 4, then he was freed without bail before the incident on the child.
| 15 Apr 2024 | 05:29
Jean Carlos Zarzuela was arrested on April 13 for punching a nine-year-old girl in Grand Central Terminal and on April 15 was remanded on $100,000 bail and ordered to undergo a mental health exam. Photo credit: Flickr MTA PD Wanted.
A 30-year-old homeless man was arrested on April 13 for punching a nine-year-old girl in Grand Central Terminal, and is now remanded on $100,000 bail following an arraignment on April 15 in the Manhattan Criminal Court, according to the Manhattan DA’s office.
Jean Carlos Zarzuela is charged for two counts of assault, a count of, attempted assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child, at his arraignment on April 15, according to the Manhattan DA.
A mental health examination by a psychiatrist was ordered by the judge before the suspect returns to court on April 19.
The incident occurred shortly before noon when the suspect approached a nine-year-old girl who was standing near her mother and punched the girl in the face. The mother told police the punch caused dizziness and redness where the suspect hit the victim.
The child, a Bronx resident was transported to NYU Langone-Tisch Hospital for treatment, according to the MTA Police Department.
Nearby MTA PD officers responded to render aid, and issued an interdepartmental law enforcement alert for Zarzuela following the incident. He was arrested at 10:20 p.m. at 125 Street 456 subway station by officers from the NYPD Transit Bureau who received the alert and spotted him at the station.
The NYPD officers turned Zarzuela over to the MTA PD, who transported him to MTA PD District 5 Headquarters at Grand Central Terminal for processing.
Previously, Zarzuela was accused of punching a 56-year-old woman in Grand Central on April4, without provocation or warning, while he was freed without bail. MTA cops initially charged him with a second-degree felony assault charge, but prosecutors reduced it to a third-degree misdemeanor assault.
Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Pamela Goldsmith set bail at $2,500 cash bail. Zarzuela had a bench warrant for assault cases in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
He then appeared before Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Laurie Peterson on April 9, and she released him without bail after the charges were lowered, just four days before the attack on the child.
“It doesn’t make any sense that this guy—who recently was released after being charged with randomly punching someone else and breaking that victim’s nose—should be back in a public space where he can attack others, especially children,” MTA communications Director Tim Minton told the New York Daily News.
A 30-year-old homeless man, Jean Carlos Zarzuela, was arrested on April 13 for punching a nine-year-old girl in Grand Central Terminal, and is now requested for $100,000 bail from his arraignment on April 15 in the Manhattan Criminal Court, according to the Manhattan DA’s office.
Zarzuela is charged for two counts of assault in the third degree, attempted assault in the third degree, harassment in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child, at his arraignment on April 15, according to the Manhattan DA.
“It doesn’t make any sense that this guy — who recently was released after being charged with randomly punching someone else and breaking that victim’s nose — should be back in a public space where he can attack others, especially children,” MTA communications Director Tim Minton told the New York Daily News.
It was reported to the Manhattan DA’s office that the child’s mother saw “a Hispanic male strike her daughter about the face with a closed fist, causing redness.”