Update, 9/25, 9:21 a.m.: West Side Rag has learned that bail was set for Anthony Melendez, the man accused of punching an older woman, at $10,000 cash or $20,000 secured bond. City Department of Correction data currently shows Melendez being held on Rikers Island awaiting his next court appearance today (September 25).
Original Story
By Gus Saltonstall
A man has been arrested in connection to one of the two incidents this month in which older women were punched in the face on the Upper West Side, police announced on Monday.
Anthony Melendez, 37, was arrested and charged on Thursday, accused of punching a 77-year-old woman who was walking on September 13 in front of 27 West 72nd Street, between Columbus and Central Park West, NYPD said.
Melendez, a Brooklyn resident, was charged with second degree assault, police said.
Hours after the 77-year-old woman was attacked on 72nd Street, an 81-year-old woman was sucker punched in the face near West 66th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Police did not provide an update to West Side Rag Tuesday morning on any arrests in connection with that attack.
Update: 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 24: An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to West Side Rag that Anthony Melendez was also arrested in 2022 after he pushed a man onto the subway tracks and slashed him with a knife following an argument within a Brooklyn subway station.
Melendez was arrested and charged charged at the time with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, and harassment, police said. You can read more about the incident — HERE.
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Good. Where is he now?
I would appreciate someone who knows the law explaining whether penalties are greater for someone who has committed multiple offenses. In a logical world, the sentence would be worse for a second time offender than a first time offender, and so on. So hopefully his past offense(s) will be considered when he is tried.
Unfortunately, I do not think this is how it works, but I would love to be better educated on this.
The NY Post article from his past offense does not say what happened to him? Is there a way to get that information. And I would appreciate it if WSR kept track of this case (and others like it) and let us know what the punishment is.
I personally hope he rots in hell.
Supervised release per A.Bragg.
how could Bragg have given him “supervised release” for a 2022 crime committed in Brooklyn? Why do you just make things up?
Looks like second degree assault in NY carries up to 7 years. One would hope that that person will be off the streets for at least that long.
Here’s hoping the other shlub will be caught soon too.
Could you please let us know if he is out on bail or if he is in custody. Also does he have a criminal record.
Same guy as this: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/brooklyn/police-bust-knife-wielding-man-in-attack-that-ended-with-attacker-victim-on-subway-tracks-nypd/
Second degree assault…what a joke.
Blindsided attack from behind / her blindspot. He outweighs her by 75+ pounds. He walks by and returns to purposefully assault her with blow to the head. She’s 77 and fairly slim/frail.
If our esteemed DAs can’t see and at least try to interpret this as an attempted murder – she could have easily slammed her head against the pavement/wall and died – the idiocy in our law enforcement ranks clearly knows no bounds.
Good news! Thanks for reporting it
That’s SO weird! Why would anyone attack this lady?
John Lennon is turning in his grave. …
Thanks for the update. Glad the police caught him. Hope the DA’s office will prosecute this as the violent crime it is and the perp, if convicted, gets the punishment he deserves. I just hope this doesn’t turn into a sob story about his “under privilege” and why society should be blamed for his uncontrolled and unprovoked violence towards older women. My compassion is for the poor woman who is probably traumatized after this.
Are they gonna keep him NOW, at least?
nope. not bail eligible
2nd degree assault is bail eligible. Why do you make things up?
Please keep us updated on this crime. How is the woman doing? I wish her well and hope she is not too traumatized. Those wounds take longer to heal.
Scary times. Glad he was found. There seems to be a scary trend in the neighborhood. Last Thursday, walking in the mid 70s between CPW and Columbus, my partner was assaulted by a stranger. Two men walked behind him and one hit him hard in the back of the head/neck and then ran off. Didn’t try to take anything. NYPD barely followed up at all. Stay safe out there.
There are no consequences for assault, hence more crime
He was arrested in 2022 for pushing a man onto the subway tracks and slashing him with a knife. This is only 2 years ago and here he is again. Criminals need to be kept in jail. We need to vote for people who will protect the law abiding good people of our community by not only arresting these criminals but also keeping them in jail.
I find it bizarre that so many people would assume that a middle-aged, probably homeless (from description in prior story) guy is out here punching random people for…fun? For the love of criminality? Why do you think other people are just randomly vicious animals? He’s obviously seriously ill. Equally obviously he needs to be off the street, for treatment.
WHY is this monster out there? He should have been locked up 2 years ago and the key should have landed in the East River.
What needs to happen is that the federal government needs to start bringing charges.
How would that work? The crimes in question here are not federal crimes.
The perpetrator should be charged with attempted murder. It’s time to bring the hammer down.
Two years after serious charges were brought against him and he is still on the street? And apparently there was another assault charge in 2020. Why isn’t this menace in jail? These are not petty crimes. No wonder the police get discouraged.
Can someone explain how this animal was not behind bars after being convicted of attempted murder? What in the world is going on with our criminal system. We are all endangered because these monsters are not behind bars.
This all started due to jail overcrowding. The simple solution would be to build more jails sadly politicians capitulated to the ACLU and went the compassion route.
The 2022 subway incident as described only says Melendez was charged with various attack crimes. Wondering what happened with THAT case.? The Post’s link shows video of him. So did the Brooklyn DA drop the charges, do a plea agreement, still awaiting trial?
After being arrested for domestic assault, knocking down a PO, and slashing a subway rider with a weapon, why was he even walking around free?
Why was he released given his criminal past? What will be the punishment if he shows up to court this time? I think a lot of people want to know the answers to these question. This is an extremely serious crime as this person could easily have sustained brain damage or hit his head on the pavement and died. Indeed we saw something similar happen to an old lady in Chelsea. You keep letting these repeat offenders out and you’ll get more of the same. There needs to be accountability even if accountability doesn’t result in perfectly envisioned racial statistics in jail. What’s wrong is wrong.
He pushed someone on the tracks and slashed them only two years ago!!!! How come this man is not in prison serving a sentence for attempted murder (or even just the assault he was charged with) or in a mental health institution???? Clearly he does not belong in the street and this behavior will continue unless he is somehow locked up. This is why people lose confidence in the justice system in NYC.
Supervised release!!!!!
Like WHO is supervising this mentally
ill person. Our laws are bad snd must change
asap.
This guy is clearly a dangerous psychopath who should be locked away for good. But instead he keeps being let go to cause more devastation. I wonder whose life he will ruin next.
Let’s hope he gets a significant amount of jail time this time.
So that’s 4 crimes of violence since 2020 (read the NYP article that mentions 3 of them)? How many attempts does this guy get before he actually kills someone? Save any empathy for his next victim who has to live with the fact that the “system” doesn’t give a damn about them.
This is the cost of not properly funding mental health treatment to begin with. I’d far rather have this guy get proper treatment and be out there contributing than have our senior citizens getting punched. What a weird set of priorities.
Maybe proper treatment or prison. I don’t care which. Maybe both. Right now we are doing neither.