Judge who let alleged NYC subway cello attacker with 8 priors walk is ex-public defender endorsed by slew of liberals

[The Bobster]

Judge who let alleged NYC subway cello attacker with 8 priors walk is ex-public defender endorsed by slew of liberals

Judge Marva Brown on Thursday opted to release 23-year-old Amira Hunter after she was nabbed for allegedly smashing a bottle over a performing cellist’s head at the Herald Square subway stati…

nypost.com

Judge who let alleged NYC subway cello attacker with 8 priors walk is ex-public defender endorsed by slew of liberals​

By
Social Links for Georgett Roberts and
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Published March 1, 2024, 6:56 p.m. ET








The Big Apple judge who cut loose an alleged nut accused of randomly attacking a subway cello player is a former Legal Aid attorney with ties to progressive politicians.


Judge Marva Brown, who opted Thursday to release the 23-year-old alleged attacker — who has at least eight prior arrests — was only recently elected to her judicial role after nearly two decades as a public defender.


Brown became a Brooklyn civil court judge in November after campaigning as self-described “zealous advocate, compassionate advisor, respected negotiator and skilled litigator,” according to her campaign site.


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Judge Marva Brown on Thursday opted to release 23-year-old Amira Hunter (pictured) after she was nabbed for allegedly smashing a bottle over a performing cellist’s head at the Herald Square subway station. Gabriella Bass
The married mom of three was endorsed for the role by a slew of liberals, including State Assemblyman Brian Cunningham, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and the Brooklyn Democratic Party.


After her election victory, lefty Brooklyn city councilman Chi Ossé was among those to heap praise on her, describing Brown in a string of tweets as “amazing” and “an indispensable community member.”









Brown is a community board member in her borough, who also served on the board of Brooklyn-based non-profit Families and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted.


She wouldn’t comment when The Post fronted her up Friday over her decision to release alleged violent perp Amira Hunter — especially given her lengthy rap sheet and pleas from Manhattan prosecutors.


“It’s not appropriate,” the judge said outside her home after putting her kids in the car.


“I’m with my children.”



Brown became a Brooklyn civil court judge in November after campaigning as self-described “zealous advocate, compassionate advisor, respected negotiator and skilled litigator,” according to her campaign site.
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She wouldn’t comment when The Post fronted her up Friday over her decision to release alleged violent perp Amira Hunter — especially given her lengthy rap sheet and pleas from Manhattan prosecutors. Michael Nagle
At Hunter’s arraignment on second-degree assault charges, prosecutors argued for $15,000 cash bail or $45,000 bond, noting that she has failed to appear at three of her five court dates in other criminal cases last year.


It wasn’t immediately clear why Brown, as a civil judge, was assigned the subway attack case out of Manhattan Criminal Court.


The state Office of Court Administration didn’t respond to The Post’s queries about her case assignment Friday.


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At Hunter’s arraignment on second-degree assault charges, prosecutors argued for $15,000 cash bail or $45,000 bond, noting that she has failed to appear at three of her five court dates in other criminal cases last year. DCPI
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It wasn’t immediately clear why Brown, as a civil judge, was assigned the subway attack case out of Manhattan Criminal Court. Michael Nagle
Brown — a graduate of Columbia University and the New York’s Cardozo School of Law — kickstarted her legal career back in 2006 as a Legal Aid Society attorney repping perps charged with misdemeanor offenses, according to her website.


The born-and-bred New Yorker started off litigating for Legal Aid in Nassau County before later deferring to the society’s Bronx office in 2008 and then Brooklyn two years later.


It wasn’t clear if she still retains her role at the non-profit, which provides resources for people who are incarcerated or have recently been released, and their families, in the wake of her being elected a judge.

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Reps for the organization didn’t respond to The Post.


Details of Brown’s background surfaced a day after she decided to set Hunter free on supervised release over the Feb. 13. caught-on-camera subway attack on performer Iain S. Forrest — despite the jurist being able to set bail on the assault charge.


Hunter, who lives in Brooklyn, also had a bench warrant out for her arrest in two cases involving petit larceny.

 

[The Bobster]

NYC subway cellist attacker arrested again for allegedly stealing pricey baseball cap

The 23-year-old woman busted last week in the caught-on-video bottle attack on a subway cellist was arrested again Tuesday after a judge released her despite pleas that she be held on bail.

nypost.com

NYC subway cellist attacker arrested again for allegedly stealing pricey baseball cap​

By
Social Links for Tina Moore ,
Social Links for Joe Marino and
Social Links for Olivia Land



Published March 6, 2024

Updated March 6, 2024, 8:33 a.m. ET









The 23-year-old woman busted last week in the caught-on-video bottle attack on a subway cellist was arrested again Tuesday after a judge released her despite pleas that she be held on bail.
Amira Hunter was busted for petit larceny at the Nordstrom in Midtown at 3:40 p.m. for supposedly stealing a $235 Moncler baseball hat, police said.

Hunter was captured by the NYPD Wednesday evening, 15 days after she allegedly attacked Iain S. Forrest, 29, while he was performing “Titanium” by Sia in the station.
A witness called 911 to report the alleged theft, the authorities added.
The latest arrest comes less than one week after Hunter was nabbed for allegedly bashing cellist Iain S. Forrest in the head while he was performing in the Herald Square subway station on Feb. 13.

​

Judge Marva Brown cut Hunter loose at her arraignment the following day – despite the prosecutor pointing out that she had failed to appear to three of her five court days in other, unrelated criminal cases.

Amira Hunter, 23, of Brooklyn leaves court on Thursday.
At the time of her arrest last week, Hunter had a bench warrant out for her arrest in two petit larceny cases, the Manhattan DA’s Office said.
She was arrested in October last year on grand larceny charges for supposedly stealing two bathing suits worth $2,050 from Bergdorf Goodman, sources said.

Forrest has stopped playing in the subway “indefinitely” and only picked up his cello for the first time post-attack on Wednesday.

Hunter is well-known to police with eight prior arrests and was last taken into custody in October for theft.
Hunter, of Brooklyn, was also arrested twice for assaulting her mother in 2019.
Brown, however, let Hunter walk on supervised release – despite the fact that she could have set bail because the assault charge for the cello incident was a violent felony.

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Follow along with The Post’s coverage of the subway cellist attacker​

• Stranger cracks cellist over the head with metal water bottle during rush-hour attack in NYC subway station in shocking video
• NYC subway cellist who was struck in the head quits station performances, calls for protection for musicians
• Thief busted in brutal subway cello attack released without bail — despite even DA Bragg’s office wanting her behind bars
• Judge who let alleged NYC subway cello attacker with 8 priors walk is ex-public defender endorsed by slew of liberals
• Cellist attacked by deranged woman on subway platform starts victim advocacy group
• NYC subway cellist attacker arrested again for allegedly stealing pricey baseball cap

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New York City Transit Commissioner Michael Kemper referred on NY1 Wednesday to Hunter’s new arrest as an example of what Mayor Eric Adams called the city’s “recidivism problem.”
“This woman had…active bench warrants for failing to report to court,” Kemper pointed out.

On Wednesday, the young Brooklynite was charged with assault.
“The judge released her…against the prosecutor’s wishes,” he said.
Forrest – who is an MD-PhD student at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine – decided to stop performing for commuters after the brutal assault.

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The incident marked the second time he was injured while playing his cello in the past year alone, the 29-year-old explained on social media.


“I love performing for you all in the subway, but I’m at my breaking point and c

 

[The Bobster]

Alleged NYC subway cellist attacker pleads guilty – then changes her mind in bizarre court scene​

By
Social Links for Kyle Schnitzer



Published April 10, 2024, 6:36 p.m. ET








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A woman accused of attacking a subway cellist with a bottle tried to plead guilty Wednesday – only to be talked out of it in a bizarre scene in Manhattan court.
Amira Hunter, 23, was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on assault charges for bashing cellist Iain S. Forrest in the head while he performed in the Herald Square subway station on Feb. 19.
When asked by a clerk how she planned to plea to the alleged assault, Hunter responded “guilty” quickly — only for her frantic lawyer, Molly Kamus, to jump in and stop her from saying anything further.
The pair had a hushed conversation at the defense table inside Judge Gregory Carro’s courtroom before the judge asked whether the attorney wanted to change the plea, which she agreed to.
Hunter — who sported a beige prison jumpsuit — then flashed smiles and several times stuck her tongue out to photographers in the jury well during the proceeding, where prosecutors asked the judge to beef up her bail following a March 5 shoplifting arrest that came after she was set put on supervised release by Judge Marva Brown in the subway attack.

Hunter found herself back in handcuffs and in front of the judge again for allegedly swiping a $325 Moncler baseball cap from a Midtown Nordstrom.

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The same judge then set bail at $500 bond — again shrugging off a $10,000 bail request from prosecutors.
But this time, the judge sided with prosecutors — who asked for $15,000 cash bail — by increasing Hunter’s bail to either $10,000 cash or a $10,000 partially insured bond.
Hunter’s attorney tried arguing for $1 bail because she wasn’t able to post the initial bond payment due to having no income.
She then said that she would be asking for a higher tier of supervised release if Hunter had been able to post bail to begin with, which she claimed Hunter is not violent despite the arrest.

Amira Hunter, 23, was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on assault charges for bashing cellist Iain S. Forrest in the head while he performed in the Herald Square subway station on Feb. 19. Gabriella Bass
But the judge wasn’t having it — telling Hunter’s attorney that there was “obviously no record of her reporting to supervised release.”


“She didn’t follow the rule of supervised release,” the judge said.


“She was rearrested.”


Hunter was allegedly watching Forrest, 29, perform with an electric cello inside the subway station at West 34th Street when she snuck up behind the musician and bashed him in the back of the head with his metal water bottle.

Hunter found herself back in handcuffs and in front of the judge again for allegedly swiping a $325 Moncler baseball cap from a Midtown Nordstrom. IainSForrest/X
The attack was caught in a now-viral video.


Forrest said after the attack that he was at his “breaking point” after being attacked for the second time while performing underground.








Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that subway entertainers deserve to perform in a safe environment and not feel threatened by others.


“Subway musicians bring joy to New York’s bustling subway system, and they deserve to perform in a safe environment. As alleged, Amira Hunter’s random and violent action left a subway musician in immense pain,” Bragg said.


“Anyone who threatens the safety of New Yorkers using our public transportation will be held accountable. I hope the victim continues to heal from this assault.”


Hunter is due back in court on June 20.