NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Bronx grand jury handed up assault charges in last week's vicious beating of a subway cleaner at the Pelham Bay Park station.
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Alexander Wright, 49, allegedly attacked Anthony Nelson, 35, on Aug. 11 as Nelson tried to get a description of Wright, who was harassing others on the 6 line platform.
On Friday, Wright was indicted by a grand jury and charged with second-degree felony assault, third-degree assault and second-degree harassment.
Lisa Nelson, the victim's mother, was emotional after hearing the news in court.
"When I heard him say he got indicted," I cried. "My nerves [were] up at first because I [didn't] know what [was] going to happen, but once they [said he'd] been indicted, I was very very happy with the outcome," she said.
TWU Local 100 Union Vice President Robert Kelley is happy the MTA is taking the incident seriously.
"It's a start for all so long our members [have] been getting assaulted and it's been swept under the rug," Kelley said.
The 35-year-old said he's "taking it day by day" and "one day at a time" in the wake of his attack that left him with a broken nose and broken collarbone.
In fact, the MTA announced a major step Friday by seeking to ban Nelson from its subways, commuter railroads, buses, or other conveyances or facilities for three years — something that has never been done before.
In a news release announcing the plan, the agency said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber plans to send a letter to Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark requesting that, upon conviction, a judge issue an order banning Wright from the transit system for that period — the maximum penalty available under the law.
"Attacks on transit workers are unacceptable and we must do everything we can to prevent them and keep our customers and employees safe," Lieber said in a statement. "Given the horrific actions of Mr. Wright and his long history of arrests — some of which were for similarly violent attacks — this penalty is warranted. Individuals who assault transit workers have no place on our subways, buses, and trains."
Kelley said Nelson's beating is a more serious version of what happens all the time to transit workers.
"There's a daily assault every day in different forms," he added. "Whether you're spat on, pushed, smacked."
Wright's record includes at least 13 prior arrests, some of them within the transit system, the release added. Wright was arrested three times on the same day, May 10, 2021, for two assaults and criminal mischief resulting in property damage.
Lisa Nelson is now hoping that Wright receives the maximum seven-year sentence possible for attacking her son.
"I am very angry, but I leave it all up to God and the justice system," she said.
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