The bloody brawl broke out on the 7 train as it entered the 61st Street-Woodside subway station during the early morning of Dec. 22. Four homeless men were indicted by a Queens grand jury and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Photo by Mark Hallum
Jan. 8, 2025 By Bill Parry
A Queens grand jury indicted four homeless men for attacking a 69-year-old unhoused man who was sleeping on a 7 train in Woodside just before Christmas. The victim woke up as his assailants were stealing his belongings, and a fight ensued, leading to the stabbing death of one of the five perpetrators.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Wednesday that she will not bring charges against the victim for the fatal stabbing, as he was acting in self-defense. Katz also credited enhanced surveillance on the 7 train for providing evidence her office used to secure the indictments against the four defendants.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that no charges would be filed against a homeless 7 train rider who fatally stabbed one of his attackers in self-defense during a brawl in Woodside last month. QNS file photo.
“The victim was accosted without provocation, and our investigation has shown that he defended himself while attempting to retrieve his property,” Katz said. “As a result, my office will not be filing charges for the fatality.”
Henry Toapanta, 32; Oswaldo Walter, 29; and Jose Valencia, 35, were arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on Tuesday on the indictment variously charging them with attempted gang assault, assault and robbery. Philipe Pena, 26, who was also stabbed during the brawl, is currently hospitalized and was arraigned on Friday.
Pena and Walter are additionally charged with attempted gang assault in the first degree.
According to the investigation and criminal complaint, the victim was asleep on a Manhattan-bound 7 train at around 12:20 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 22. As the train approached the 61st Street-Woodside transit hub, Walter and Stalin Moya entered the subway car and spotted the sleeping homeless man surrounded by his belongings.
Walter removed one of the victim’s bags and brought it to a second subway car. Moya removed two more of the sleeping victim’s bags and woke the man in the process. A physical altercation ensued between the homeless passenger and Moya as the victim attempted to retrieve his property. Pena, Valencia, Toapanta and Walter entered from the other subway car and joined the brawl. Valencia allegedly grabbed the 69-year-old while Pena and Walter repeatedly punched him. During the fight, Moya allegedly removed another bag belonging to the victim and brought it to the second car.
The victim followed the five men into the second subway car, where two of his bags were concealed. But while he was between cars, Pena attempted to close the subway door on him and punched him multiple times. When the victim entered the car, Walter, Toapanta and Valencia concealed one of his bags under a seat and behind their legs. As the victim attempted to pick up his bag from the subway floor, Pena allegedly grabbed him and punched him repeatedly while Walter kicked him. Moya allegedly rummaged through the victim’s belongings that spilled out of the bag onto the subway floor. During the ensuing brawl, the victim stabbed Moya and Pena.
Police from the 108th Precinct in Long Island City responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress and found the victim had suffered abrasions, lacerations, contusions and bleeding to his head and face. They found Moya lying in a pool of blood with stab wounds to his chest, and Pena had been slashed in the face, police said. EMS transported all three men to Elmhurst Hospital, where Moya was pronounced dead a short while later. Police apprehended Toapanta, Walter and Valencia on Roosevelt Avenue.
“As alleged, the defendants stole the possessions of a sleeping homeless man, leading to a violent altercation with one of the assailants stabbed to death,” Katz said. “The grand jury has returned serious charges against the four men, and they now face substantial prison time in convicted.”
Toapanta, Walter and Velencia were arraigned before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky, while Pena was arraigned before Judge Danielle Hartman. All four were ordered to return to court on Feb. 4. If convicted of the top charges, the defendants face a potential maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
“Our subways must be safe for the millions of people who depend on public transportation,” Katz said. “The New York City subway system has been outfitted with cameras, and the video recovered in this case is vital to our prosecution.”
MTA Chief of Security Michael Kemper told QNS on Thursday that Katz’s comment was “music to our ears.” He was appointed by the MTA in September after nearly 34 years in the NYPD where he rose through the ranks before retiring as Chief of Transit last fall.
“That video came from the new state-of-the-art surveillance cameras that are installed on every single subway car and there are thousands of other cameras on platforms, mezzanines and turnstiles,” Kemper said. “It’s a huge deterrent to crime which provides great value to investigators and has a probative value to prosecutors as well.”
Kemper added that the surveillance system was funded and supported by Governor Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber “challenged the MTA team to get it done.”
Hochul joined MTA leadership at the Corona Maintenance Facility near the 7 line in Willets Point in September 2022 to announce the program to install security cameras on every subway car.
Governor Kathy Hochul directed the MTA to install security cameras in every single subway car as part of her public safety initiative announced on a visit to the Corona Maintenance Facility along the 7 line. Photo by Mark A. Herman/MTA
“Public safety is Governor Hochul’s top priority and she continues to do everything in her power to keep New Yorkers safe,” Hochul’s spokesman, Matthew Janiszewski, said. “That is why she directed the MTA to install security cameras in every single subway car — over 15,000 cameras — and now that the project is complete, these cameras are helping police solve crimes even faster.”
He added that the Governor has been clear: if you commit a crime, you will be caught.
“The indictments secured by District Attorney Katz are proof the cameras are working as intended,” Janiszewski said. “By working hand-in-hand with the MTA and New York City, we are deterring crime, making it safer for all riders and restoring public confidence in the system.”
Featured Events
