In February, a 16-year-old who was allegedly panhandling was arrested for slashing the face of a busboy at a Greenwich Village diner. The Post now reports that suspect Domincio Howington admitted to the Feb. 17th slashing, allegedly claiming that victim Bobby Barbot started it when he asked him to leave the Silver Spurs restaurant.
"He gave me a little shove," the teen allegedly told cops after his arrest on Feb. 23rd. "I called him a name under my breath….He took a swing and hit me. I hit the tree. I’m not a pussy so I went up to him and sliced him."
Howington had been asking for fake donations for a basketball team at the diner when the incident occurred. Howington started to leave the restaurant when Barbot asked, but took out his knife before exiting: "He had his hand on the inner door of the vestibule to open it when I sliced him in the face," the teen allegedly told police. "I aimed for his face. He shouldn’t have touched me. I have to show my face at that place."
He is accused of cutting Barbot from cheek to his chin, causing him to require 130 stitches. Howington's attorney argues that his client was acting in self-defense: "He punched my client in the face. My client was in fact injured and suffered a laceration to his mouth."
Howington has been charged with two counts of first-degree assault; prosecutors have recommended a sentence of five years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea.
