By Carol Tannenhauser
Larissa Williams, a homeless woman who was arrested on November 16th for allegedly hitting a 71-year-old woman in the head with a block of wood on 79th Street and Broadway, was rearrested on November 23rd and remanded to Rikers Island, after missing a court appearance related to the assault.
Williams, 30, had been living for some time in the area, sleeping in the doorway of the Ansonia and spending time with her homeless companion (who police say was the intended target of the wood) in the median dividing the avenue. The victim required three staples to close a laceration. Williams was released on November 18th with no bail and a court date of November 22nd. When she didn’t show up, officers from the 20th precinct found and arrested her the next day.
“Larissa won’t be there tomorrow or for the next two weeks,” Deputy Inspector Timothy Malin, commander of the 20th, told a packed house at November’s Community Council meeting last Monday night. “She’s back in custody and, this time, the judge threw the book at her.”
A representative from the DA’s office at the meeting added, “The judge gave her $10,000 cash bail and a $20,000 bond. She did not make her bail and was indicted today (November 25th) on felony assault and felony weapons charges. She’s in Rikers.”
The crowd broke into spontaneous applause. (This reporter understood their relief, but was struck by the tragedy of Larissa Williams’ life — and the hope that she will get the treatment she needs.)
