5 Hasidic men indicted in alleged attack on Brooklyn man
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Five men who prosecutors say are affiliated with an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood watch group have been indicted for allegedly beating a black man in New York on Dec. 1, 2013.
According to a statement from the Kings County District Attorney's Office, the defendants "detained" Taj Patterson, 23, as he walked home in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn because they were investigating reports of break-ins in the area:
"The group, which had grown to approximately 15 members, surrounded Patterson, preventing him from continuing his walk home. When Patterson tried to get away from the group, he was held down, and savagely punched and kicked by a number of the males surrounding him, including these defendants."
According to the prosecutor's statement, court documents show that the assault, which left Patterson blind in one eye, stopped after bystanders threatened to take pictures of the beating. The defendants allegedly fled the scene and were not present when emergency personnel arrived.
CBS New York reports that the men shouted anti-gay slurs during the attack.
Pinchas Braver, 19; Joseph Freid, 25; Mayer Herskovic, 21; Aharon Hollander, 28; and Abraham Winkler, 39, were all arrested and arraigned Wednesday on charges of acting in concert to commit gang assault in the first degree, unlawful imprisonment and menacing. If convicted they each face up to 25 years in prison.
Williamsburg Shomrim, a patrol group made up of members of the large ultra-Orthodox community in the neighborhood, issued a statement Thursday saying that "not all five" of the defendants are members of the organization. The group did not immediately return a call from CBS News' Crimesider seeking comment.
