By Gus Saltonstall
A man was indicted on Monday for attacking two Jewish men on the Upper West Side earlier this summer, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.
Myles Utz, 31, is charged with attempted assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the release.
On June 16, Utz walked up to a 25-year-old man wearing a yarmulke around 4 p.m., near West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. As he approached, he yelled “Free Palestine,” along with several antisemitic slurs, while throwing two glass bottles at the man, the DA’s Office said.
A crowd began forming around the two men, and Utz then turned his attention to a 74-year-old man in the group also wearing a yarmulke. Utz again yelled “Free Palestine,” and spit on the man, before running away from the scene, the DA’s Office said.
Utz was arrested nine days later.
“As alleged, Myles Utz attacked two strangers in antisemitic incidents just minutes apart,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in a news release. “This alleged conduct is unacceptable, and we will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to hold people accountable who target Manhattanites in hate-based acts of violence.”
A spokesperson from the District Attorney’s Office told West Side Rag that Utz is currently out on supervised released, as the charges are not bail eligible. His next court date is on January 13.
Supervised release comes with multiple mandatory appointments leading up to the court date, but those appointments are being done virtually as Utz lives in Ohio, the DA’s spokesperson added.
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Pls post his mugshot here. Undoubtedly, his sentence, if any, will not be enough to change his future behavior. Time for additional measures.
Please vote better to stop this.
Nobody you vote for is going to stop Myles Utz from being a putz.
Well, he’d be in jail awaiting trial rather than on the street free to commit other crimes.
For throwing a bottle at one guy and spitting on another? I doubt that very much unless he had a bunch of prior arrests.
Why did it take 9 days for Ute to be arrested?
If they were Muslim, absent a public outcry, nothing would happen and the elected officials would barely lift a finger. With that being said, antisemitism must be condemned and swiftly acted upon and it should have taken quicker than 9 days for an arrest.
He is in Ohio, do you really think he is going to come back to NYC to stand trial for a hate crime? No way.