The charges against 10 bikers who allegedly beat a Columbia grad in front of his terrified wife and daughter won’t be downgraded because the victim’s injuries haven’t healed as expected, Manhattan prosecutors told a judge Friday.
“On the last date I indicated we’d likely be reducing the charges pending results of another medical examination,” said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass before Justice Maxwell Wiley. “It unfortunately appears the victim’s injuries haven’t healed as well as we believed they would and we will not reduce the charges at this time.”
Steinglass added that the plea deals that were offered to 10 of the defendants based on the charges being reduced from gang assault in the first degree to attempted gang assault were still on the table.
They face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on the top charge.
Defendants Jason Brown, Reginald Chance, Robert Sims, Craig Wright, Clint Caldwell, Kaliq Douglas, Edwin Rodriguez, Allen Edwards, James Kuehne and Christopher Cruz appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court Friday.
Undercover cop Wojciech Braszczok — who was also involved in the fracas — appeared in court Thursday.
Victim Alexian Lien, 33, needed stitches on his face and head after he was yanked from his Range Rover and savagely beaten in front of his wife and infant daughter on West 178th Street on Sept. 29.
The incident erupted after Lien’s SUV bumped into a biker’s ride near 125th Street in Harlem.
A confrontation ensued and Lien peeled away, running over several bikers, one of whom was critically injured.
A mob of enraged motorcyclists then chased Lien 50 blocks uptown before forcing him off the West Side Highway and dragging him from his car.
The bloody confrontation was caught on video and went viral on the Internet.
Wiley also issued an order of protection barring the defendants from having any contact with the victim.
Defense lawyers asked the DA’s Office to turn over photos of Lien’s injuries to prove that he has sustained the facial scarring necessary for the charge.
“We’d like to see the medical reports on the injuries,” said Edwards’ attorney, John Carney. “It boils down to whether there’s a scar. If there isn’t, they’ve overcharged an assault in the second degree as a gang assault.”
Edwards has declined an offer of 60 days in jail.
Raymond Colon said his client, Clint Caldwell, wouldn’t accept prosecutors’ offer of two years in exchange for a guilty plea.
“Unless they dismiss the case outright, the offer is unacceptable,” he said. “He’s never even had a traffic ticket.”
Lien, who couldn’t be reached for comment, plans to sue the city and two of his alleged attackers, Braszczok and NYPD cop Matthew Rodriguez, according to a notice of claim filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.