By Carol Tannenhauser
The Upper West Side man arrested on November 19 in connection with an alleged threat to the Jewish community in New York appeared in court on Tuesday to face a new charge: conspiracy.
Matthew Mahrer, 22, of W. 94th Street, was detained by MTA officers in Penn Station in November along with Christopher Brown, 21, of Aquebogue in Suffolk County, New York. Both men were charged with “criminal possession of a weapon.” Brown was also charged with “[making] a terroristic threat and aggravated harassment,” according to an NYPD spokesperson. Brown was held without bail, while Mahrer was ordered held on $150,000 cash bail or $300,000 bond.
On Wednesday, the Rag learned from City Council Member Gale Brewer’s office that Mahrer’s family, who are Jewish, had paid the bail shortly after Mahrer’s arrest and he was released. However, the Assistant District Attorney (ADA) assigned to the case, Edward Burns, requested an arraignment hearing to ask Judge Neil Ross of Manhattan Criminal Court to return Mahrer to custody due to the new charge and new evidence, said a spokesperson for Brewer, who attended Tuesday’s hearing.
The ADA told Judge Ross that since his arrest, Mahrer has remained in contact with a man who had driven him and Brown to buy a gun. According to the ADA, the driver — who was not named — has since been arrested on gun charges, and Mahrer has allegedly sent money to his commissary account in jail.
Judge Ross denied the request to return Mahrer to jail, according to Brewer’s spokesperson, and ruled that Mahrer can continue living at his parent’s apartment. The ADA then asked the judge to order an ankle monitor for Mahrer, which the judge also denied. The judge did agree that Mahrer should forfeit his passport, but the defense attorney said Mahrer doesn’t have a passport.
Mahrer’s presence in the neighborhood is alarming some residents, according to Sheldon Fine, president of the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing and a member of Community Board 7. “Members of synagogues and neighbors on the West Side are shaken by this decision,” Fine said. “They are asking, ‘Why was the safety of people in our community not an important factor in this decision?'”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was in the courtroom and told reporters after the hearing that he “understands Upper West Side residents’ concerns, but trusts law enforcement will be diligent. He was in favor of returning Mahrer to custody,” said Brewer’s spokesperson.
In a letter to Fine, Brewer wrote, “These crimes are terrifying, unacceptable and continue to rise at an alarming rate across the city. The DA’s office also told me that they have increased their staffing in the Hate Crimes Unit, and the Community Partnerships Unit recently hired a Deputy Director for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.”
Alvin Bragg may be the only guy in town who “trusts law enforcement will be diligent”.
It wasn’t Bragg who made the decision to release him. It was Judge Ross’s decision. Place blame where it belongs. And Bragg isn’t on this case, it’s the ADA, Edward Burns, who wanted this guy locked up. It’s almost like you didn’t even bother to read this article.
He is being sarcastic, and you are being ironic?
Our city is not normal. Period.
Cute. Forget about jailing the “regular” recidivists skilled in the odd 1-on-1 stabbing, punching, raping, etc. Now we’re not even jailing wanna-be terrorists preparing mass murder.
Yes. All kinds of talk, plans, and action. It’s scary, and neither left nor right seem to be able to do anything but accuse the other side of doing nothing.
I gather that Judge Neil Ross is appointed and not elected. He was first appointed by Giuliani in 1989 and later reappointed to his present position by Bloomberg.
“the Rag learned…that Mahrer’s family…had paid the bail shortly after Mahrer’s arrest and he was released on his own recognizance.”
Reminder that this was A-OK under the pre-bail reform system, which just goes to show the problems with it. A poor version of Mahrer sits on Riker’s, Mahrer with family money walks free. That money would be the determining factor here just doesn’t make any sense and never has.
Logic? You’re using logic?
Sarah makes an important point here. Thank you for catching that part of the story.
Yeah, that’s the most important part of the story, not the general laissez-faire and leniency toward all manners of crime that accompanied bail reform. Now we welcome that same nonsense in matters involving guns and terrorism.
Right? The pesky 8th Amendment always getting in the way.
/s
Thank you Sarah for making this comment. It is an important point that is sadly not often recognized in the debate on bail reform.
Can someone who understands the law better than I do explain why that guy in Staten Island was jailed in Rikers Island over a dispute with his Coop Board (no other prior record to speak of) but this guy doesn’t do any time?
Or how about how Donald Trump is living his best life even after top secret docs were found in his home while if any of the rest of us did that we would be sitting in jail?
You shouldn’t have to “do time” at all until you’ve been convicted of a crime and sentenced. Regardless of what we all think of this individual, due process is still required.
What does “had paid the bail shortly after Mahrer’s arrest and he was released on his own recognizance” mean? I thought ROR means that you were released from preventive detention without bail. If the bail was paid, then isn’t that *not* ROR?
If the suspect Maher’s family paid his bail, he is not “released on his own recognizance”, he is released on bail. This is wrong on the reporter’s part and leads to the public’s perception and bail laws have been changed in such a way that no one is held in. This is bail at work; if you can post the bail, you get out. If bail is too high for you to post (and your family) or if you are poor and can’t scrape together even a low amount, you stay in.
corrected, Thanks
Based on reasonable suspicion that he is aiding a criminal while he is awaiting arraignment, I think he should be denied bail.
I must be missing something