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Man Who Put Woman In Coma Over Parking Spot Convicted Of Misdemeanor
By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 8, 2012
Modified May 8, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 8, 2012
Modified May 8, 2012
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The 35-year-old Queens electrician who punched a woman in a fight over a parking spot on East 14th Street last year was acquitted of felony assault today, but convicted of a misdemeanor. According to DNAinfo, Oscar Fuller still faces up to a year in jail at his sentencing on June 13. The woman Fuller punched, 25-year-old Lana Rosas, was in a coma for nine days following the incident, and was hospitalized for months afterwards.
"This was a brutal and unjustified act of rage," Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement. "That a petty argument over a parking space could escalate into physical violence is shameful." The Post reports that Rosas is still unable to work or drive, and she is still undergoing therapy for her brain injuries. "It's a slow process," her mother Angie Harrison said. "A slow, steady improvement."
Convicting Fuller of felony assault would have required the jury to decide that he intended to cause Rosas serious injury, not just injury. His attorneys successfully argued that her most serious injuries occurred when she went airborne after the punch and hit the ground, not from the punch itself. Initially Fuller said that he felt threatened, which is why he threw the punch.
Fuller apologized for attacking Rosas, and a jury in November was deadlocked by one member, triggering a retrial.
Tagged
crime
east village
parking
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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