By Carol Tannenhauser
An arrest was made in the assault of a 78-year-old man, who was beaten on the subway last Thursday afternoon, at the 96th Street and Broadway station, for asking the suspect to lower his music.
Reginald Matthews, 31, (pictured above) was picked up the same day as the subway assault took place, October 27, for petit larceny in Brooklyn, according to a police spokesperson. While in custody, Matthews was linked to the subway incident and charged with “assault on a victim 65 or older.” The detective was unclear about whether that charge carried a harsher penalty than an ordinary assault.
Matthews was arrested in downtown Brooklyn for shoplifting nearly $1,000 worth of clothing from a Primark department store. “He is your typical revolving-door criminal,” the detective said. “He has multiple prior arrests dating back to 2007, many related to domestic violence.”
Will he be held for this one? “Not my purview,” he answered. “That belongs to the DA.”
Update: Reginald Mathews was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and charged with the felony of Assault in the Second Degree (victim over 65 years of age). The victim required five stitches to close a laceration above his eye. The People requested bail of $75,000 Cash/Insurance Company Bond/Partially Secured Surety Bond. Bail was set in the amount of $30,000 bond/ $15,000 cash. The defendant is currently on Rikers Island. He is represented by Legal Aid. The People are represented by Assistant District Attorney Ashlyn Rich. The case was adjourned to Part F, November 3rd, for grand jury action. (-Elliott Shapiro.)
Still outstanding is another suspect in the subway beating, pictured below.
Anyone with information regarding this individual is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
Glad NYPD caught him. Sad he might be out already.
Great job by the cops!
Hopefully they can throw on more charges if he doesn’t give info about his accomplice.
Could someone with a law enforcement background please explain how repeat offenders are handled? In a logical world, it would be a system like points where a minor crime is one point, a major crime might be four points, with the punishment dependent in part on cumulative points (and points can be wiped away if there is a few years with no offenses). This way repeat offenders are charged appropriately and not just based on the severity of the latest crime.
Unfortunately, it seems like each crime is looked at in a vacuum so nothing is done so these repeat criminals continue to roam the streets with no fear.
Isn’t this common sense or am I crazy?
Kudos to NYPD for catching him so quickly! And thanks to WSR for the update.
Interesting approach. Like points on a driver’s license
Look up ‘three strikes and you’re out’. Not popular any more. Cuz it actually worked, sent a lot of people to jail. Worked too well, in some people’s opinion.
Sending people for weed possession to jail for 25 years because of a three strikes law is why the US has the highest prison population. Not something to brag about.
Hoylman’s extreme bail reforms mostly did away with consideration of prior offences — hence the revolving door now spins faster than ever, and too rapidly in the view of many. If you want more common sense criminal justice, please vote Danzilo for state senate. She lost the primary but managed to get on the Nov ballot as an independent.
Alvin Bragg will release him. For those who did, remember you voted for Bragg so you are responsible for it.
The law requires release for misdemeanors, Bragg or no Bragg. This is second degree assault, a felony with a minimum of 2 years if he’s convicted without pleading to some lesser charge. The guy is, in fact, now at Rikers. Tl:dr: talk sense.
Please look at his record. He was arrested for forcible touching and they let him go. Maybe you don’t have a daughter, but I do.
Some of this man’s arrests were as far back as 2007, and he was apparently released many times before Bragg was elected. How can you can say I am responsible for that?
You can be angry and frustrated, but please use common sense.
Sue Timms, You seem to be a 1-trick pony. Every time an arrest is made, you make exactly the same comment. And as the other comments demonstrate, You are wrong. Enough already!
Actually, Bragg was elected via rank choice voting — not necessarily the will of the people. That was also a mistake. Two errors for the price of one.
Bragg was not elected via ranked choice voting – unfortunately that was the one race that was not ranked choice. I voted for the woman who was very strict about crime (Crotty) who finished way down in the pack. Weinstein was my second choice and I should have voted for her. If it was ranked choice, I could have voted for Crotty with Weinstein second.
Also, ranked choice actually much better represents the will of the people than a regular ballot as fewer votes are wasted.
That being said, Bragg gets a bad rap. I think he is enforcing more laws than we think he is. And as much as I don’t love him, kicking him out a year into his elected term is not good form or precedent. But he could have done Hochul a favor by speaking up a bit – now it is too late.
For all the naysayers:
“Matthews, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was held on a $30,000 bond or $15,000 cash bail following an arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, records show. He is being held at Rikers Island pending his next court appearance.”
Great find – thanks. Hochul should have that in one of her ads. And Bragg needs to step up and publicly announce that he is enforcing the law. Maybe it will upset some of his core supporters, but otherwise we might end up with Governor Zeldin…
Yes, keeping accused repeat violent offenders out of Rikers (and on the street/subway) or protecting the public from them: which should be the higher priority?
Thanks. Sad that this poor older man had to be the final victim to finally get him locked up so he doesn’t hurt anyone else. Seems that it take a violent crime which is sad. Thanks for posting.
Stay “progressive”! Vote status quo!
“Your typical revolving-door criminal.” so this is “catch and release.” ??? How many of these are prowling the city? Can nothing be done about this?
VOTE!
This, in a nutshell, is what is wrong with our criminal justice system in NYC. Another recidivist sociopath free to roam the streets and commit mayhem. NYC needs major criminal justice reform, but the NYC Democrats will never do it. Their constituents don’t want reform. Protecting the rights of criminals is more important than protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Anyone else find these articles borderline racist? They always cover a black male beating up a white or asian woman and never the other way round.
How is this racist? They are just reporting the facts. I am quite certain that if the same crime happened with the races reversed, WSR would still be reporting it.
Please stop looking for drama where it doesn’t exist.
Agree, but how often does that happen?
It’s pretty rare that an elderly man gets beaten on the subway by a 31 year old. I’m thankful it’s rare, and want to know whenever it happens so we can draw attention to the issue.
No. I don’t find them borderline racist.
If a white or Asian woman beats up a black male, I’m sure it will be reported by the New York Times!!!!
These criminals are bullies.
Never do they pick on a man their own size. They always pick on the elderly, or women or small petite individuals and sadly, even children.
Sarah Feinberg, she was the interim MTA head, was just punched in the face last week in Chelsea broad daylight- For those who like to blame Women for being outside in the evening.
Part of the knockout game.
It was done by a black male against a white woman. No one talked about race and no one thinks it’s racist. It’s just a fact of what happened.
The problem is that criminals know that they will get released. I think everyone here remembers what happened on the steps of the 79th St. church where a man broke a woman’s jaw and then attacked another woman at 9:05 AM in the morning. He was released.
No we don’t find it racist only informative.
Pretty obvious that Donald is trolling here. Some of us understand innuendo. Interesting first name there Donny….
Assault with a side of elder abuse, and shoplifting. What a full and productive day!
Now, what is this thing called ‘broken windows policing’ all about?
“Broken windows policing”?
That was about that supposed crime wave from yesteryear, “squeegee men”… promulgated to one and all (and at the top of his lungs) by that foul election denier, “America’s mayor”, Rudy Giuliani.
No, actually, broken windows was a theory (and a good one) from a criminologist named George Kelling. He passed away in 2019. He was a professor at Rutgers and a very smart man. There was a great deal of truth to his “broken windows” theory and clearing up the small crimes did indeed make the citizens happy and the perps take note and go away.
Yes, broken window policing.
Giuliani fixed the city. He may not be your or my favorite person now, but you can’t deny the fact that he cleaned up the city.
That’s funny; I’m of the opinion that he broke the city, removing elements of its charm and promoting the “Disney-fication” of the Times Square… “wholesome” out the bloody kazoo.
Sex shops and workers of Times Square were the charm? I will take disneyfication over that grime any day.
Interesting. I have been tempted more than a few times to ask someone on the subway with a loud speaker to turn it off or down (or offer them cheap earbuds). I always refrained for fear of a violent response. Seems like a wise decision on my part . We now ride the subway with some degree of fear, yet the solution has been tried and tested but NY City and State do not want to take the necessary steps to keep us all safer
It is a wise decision. Ignore the keyboard warriors on here who state that they would speak up, and you should too..
Maybe one day you’ll need help, and no one will speak up or intervene. If that’s world you want to live in, so be it.
Good. Now find the violent woman
Every single time there is a crime story, we get the same comments, exactly the same. Can we just skip it?! Has anyone ever won an argument or changed their own minds as a result of these “dialogues?” Also, on the subject of bail reform, why is it that no one ever talks about the real problem? Our court system. Every accused person has a constitutional right to a speedy trial. Why does everyone accept that it takes months/years to get to trial. It is entirely unacceptable and immoral. These chronic, unconstitutional delays are the cardinal sin of our justice system. Bail/no-bail is a sideshow, a distraction. No, you should _not_ get out _just_ because you can afford it. No, you should _not_ be locked up _just_ because you’re poor. But that is entirely beside the point. The tail is wagging the dog. Justice must be _swift_. It’s not a debatable point and yet it’s entirely absent from every single discussion about bail. Why? Abject denial, lack of vision. It’s pathetic. We’re pathetic. The problem is so big we can’t even imagine what it would look like to fix this. We need so many more judges, prosecutors, public defenders, courtrooms, clerks, bailiffs, investigators, etc. Yes, that costs a whole lot, massive costs, but that’s what justice costs. You get what you pay for. We all have exactly the justice system (ditto government, community, world) we deserve.
So why do we never hear pleas from elected to fund the court system? Why are they only focused on bikes lanes, safe injection sites, and now, Brad Hoylman has a bill to mandate eco friendly bird glass so birds don’t die flying into buildings? If a speedy trial is the issue, and we need to fund judges, why not invest there? Seems like a practical solution, something that is very fixable, and something criminal Justice advocates should also wrap their hands around. Speedier trials so an innocent person gets free without wasting away in jail.
Good story, clear pictures, well done; more of the same, please!
Some progress or even the hopeful illusion of same is quite welcome when the social environment and hope itself is at such a low ebb.
Folks, watch the video. Yep, there’s a video. The woman kicked him in the head. I have never been so disgusted in my entire life. The criminals are running New York City right now
This is elder abuse. These individuals who commit it know they can get away with it. This guy had 25 prior arrest and one of them was for a forcible touching. That means sex assault.
And yet he’s out on the street to beat an old man. The DA of New York should be ashamed of himself!!!!
Keep voting these DAs.
The thefts are passed down to the consumer. I’m sick of it already.
When I worked at Modells, the price of theft was built in to the sale of the item.
So this trickles down to us.
Every expense is built into the sale of an item, not just theft.
These people must be remanded. That would slow down the assaults. The rights of the victim must be respected along with the safety of the community. This was an aggravated assault and with the age of the victim, it could have been fatal. I don’t want anyone locked up without bail for non violent crimes, but the violent crimes should be remanded.
The TV show ‘court-cam’ is littered with guys like Mathews as the public can now watch the fates of many convicted felons unfold on camera in their own living rooms. A national epidemic that needs aggressive prosecution leading to conviction, these unprovoked attacks on the vulnerable public requires nothing short of the harshest possible sentencing the law provides…..period!