NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Brooklyn man was indicted on Thursday for assault after he allegedly pushed an investigator out of an illegal cannabis store and closed the door on his arm, prosecutors said.
Arjante Moss, 27, an employee at Big Chief Exotics Smoke Shop, was working on Dec. 18, when a finance supervising investigator from the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance came in to shut down the store after a closure order was obtained in court.
Moss allegedly realized that the investigator was a law enforcement agent and pushed him out and closed the door on his arm, according to court documents.
The victim was able to get his arm out from the doorframe of the store at 7323 Third Ave. in Bay Ridge, and had some bruises on his left arm, according to prosecutors.
The victim was treated at NYU Langone Health and released later on.
“This defendant didn’t just defy the law by working in a shop that sold unlicensed cannabis products, but also allegedly violently attacked an investigator as he tried to lawfully shut down the illegal business,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “In Brooklyn, we have no tolerance for attacks on law enforcement personnel and will now seek to hold the defendant fully accountable.”
Moss was charged with second-degree assault, second-degree obstructing governmental administration and second-degree harassment. He now faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison if convicted of the top count.
He remains out on bail and was ordered to return to court on March 20, 2024.