A 22-year-old Venezuelan accused of taking part in an infamous mob attack on two police officers in Times Square was wrongly identified and “has been acquitted,” prosecutors said Friday.
via the New York Post
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is dropping its case against John Boda, who was initially charged with assault for a Jan. 27 fight that led to the arrest of seven other immigrants.
“After a thorough and diligent investigation, John Boda has been exonerated as a participant in this attack,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Instead, the district attorney’s office said they identified and charged the suspect originally believed to be Boda.
“Our investigation revealed that Marcelino Asti, not John Boda, is the man described in the complaint, dressed in a black and white jacket and pink shoes, who carried out the attack,” prosecutors said.
“Marcelino Este has been charged for his complicity. Therefore, we will dismiss this complaint against John Boda.”
Esty, a Venezuelan immigrant, appeared in court Friday and was arraigned on assault charges. He was held on $15,000 cash bail.
Boda’s lawyers strongly denied involvement in the melee, which erupted when an officer tried to stop a migrant who was not moving on West 42nd Street.
Read more at New York Post
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