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Motorcyclist Pleads Guilty To Attacking SUV Driver
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jan 29, 2015
Modified Jan 29, 2015
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jan 29, 2015
Modified Jan 29, 2015
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One of the dozen-plus motorcyclists involved in the assault of an SUV driver and his family in 2013 has struck a plea deal with prosecutors that will significantly cut down his jail time.
Christopher Cruz, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and riot yesterday after prosecutors accused him of partially instigating the attack two years ago, in which driver Alexian Lien was surrounded and beaten while driving in Washington Heights with his wife and baby daughter. Cruz allegedly forced Lien to stop his car, permitting the other bikers to surround him.
His attorney says he never physically assaulted Lien or participated in the attack, but he pleaded guilty to avoid serious jail time. "It was a very, very difficult decision,” his attorney, H. Benjamin Perez, told the Times. “He never laid a finger on the guy." Cruz now faces only four months behind bars and five years probation, as opposed to the up-to-six-years in prison he faced if convicted at trail.
Earlier this month, two more bikers involved in the attack pleaded guilty in exchange for reduced jail time. The other bikers will likely go to trial, with charges pending against an undercover NYPD detective who allegedly participated in the assault.
Tagged
Alexian Lien
christopher cruz
motorcycle road rage
motorcycles
nypd
Rebecca Fishbein
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