BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 4- District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced that a 19-year-old woman has been convicted of assaulting an MTA bus driver after the driver refused to allow the defendant’s dog to board the bus.
Steangeli Medina pled guilty to assault in the second degree, the top count in the indictment, before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Patricia DiMango. Under the plea agreement Medina will be sentenced to six months in jail and five years’ probation.
Medina has also agreed to waive her right to appeal the conviction and will complete a mandatory anger management program. The judge also issued an eight-year order of protection, which prohibits Medina from having any contact with the bus driver.
On December 12, 2013, the defendant will surrender and be held without bail pending a sentencing date which will be set once the Department of Probation has prepared a pre-sentencing report.
The assault occurred on June 21, 2011 at a bus stop on East Fordham Road and Third Avenue when the defendant became enraged because bus operator Marlene Bien-Aime would not allow Medina’s dog to get on the bus without being in a pet carrier. Medina dragged the driver out of her seat, off the bus and onto the sidewalk where Medina struck the victim repeatedly.
As a result, the victim sustained extreme facial bruising and swelling, suffered partial vision loss, which has since been restored, and underwent surgery for injuries to her knee and shoulders. The trauma resulted in the bus driver being off the job on a medical leave for one year.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Hilary Chernin of the Trial Division.
Tags: Assault, Bus Driver, Dog
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