DA VANCE: MICHAEL ENRIGHT PLEADS GUILTY TO HATE CRIMES AFTER STABBING TAXI DRIVER WHILE MAKING ANTI-MUSLIM REMARKS
This week, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the guilty plea of MICHAEL ENRIGHT, 24, for slashing and stabbing a taxi driver after asking the driver if he is a Muslim. The defendant pleaded guilty to Attempted Murder in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime and Assault in the First Degree as a Hate Crime. He is expected to be sentenced on June 25, 2013.
“This was a horrendous crime against an innocent New Yorker,” said District Attorney Vance. “The victim, a native of Bangladesh and the father of four children, has been working and living in our diverse city for nearly three decades. There is no place for bigotry in New York City. My Office is committed to protecting all New Yorkers and will continue to aggressively prosecute hate crimes of any kind.”
As admitted in his guilty plea and according to documents filed in court, at approximately 6 p.m. on August 24, 2010, ENRIGHT hailed a taxi cab at 24th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan. During the cab ride, the defendant asked the driver if he is a Muslim. When the driver answered yes, the defendant yelled anti-Muslim comments, slashed the driver’s throat, and stabbed and slashed his face, arms, and hands.
Assistant District Attorneys James Zaleta and Carolina Holderness handled the prosecution of the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Kerry O’Connell, Chief of Trial Bureau 80, and Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, Chief of the Hate Crimes Unit.
Defendant Information:
Michael Enright, D.O.B. 1/19/1989
Brewster, N.Y.
Convicted:
• Attempted Murder in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, a class B felony, 1 count
• Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, a class B felony, 1 count