The 19-year-old accused of fatally stabbing two men on a downtown 2 train last weekend appeared in court yesterday, and was "hysterical." Brenddy Garcia (pictured) was ordered to be held at Rikers without bail; lawyer Pamela Roth said, "He was crying inside the interview booth and when he was standing next to me in the courtroom."
The Daily News reports that Garcia's lawyer insisted he "was defending himself early Sunday morning from an unruly gang of 10 to 13 men and one woman whose ringleader declared 'I want to smack me a n----r' when he boarded the train. The ringleader, whom Roth did not identify, allegedly terrorized a woman and a homeless man before the group turned its attention to Garcia and his friends." Darnell Morel, Ricardo Williams, and Mark Joseph were stabbed—Morel and Williams died from their wounds—and their friends say Garcia went into a rage when a bag of trash hit his friend. The prosecutor said Garcia "reacted to a perceived act of disrespect in a grossly disproportionate manner."
Law enforcement sources paint another picture to the Post:
"Last Sunday, the group of 12 to 13 thugs that included the stabbing victims spent most of the night drinking and terrorizing people in Midtown.
At the Duane Reade at 40th Street and Broadway, some of them climbed on 6-foot-high theft detectors near the entrance as others yelled loudly around the store, three employees said.
They then joined the rest of the group. The plan was to board a downtown 2 train with 40-ounce beers and have a "train party" on the way home.
The young men harassed several passengers, and eventually zeroed in on Garcia and his four friends.
A source said, "It's like something from the bad old days of New York."
