20 teens beat train beggar
A GROUP OF more than 20 teens attacked a homeless panhandler on a subway train pulling into Columbus Circle, leaving the victim bleeding and with a broken tooth, authorities said Sunday.
The 20 to 30 teenagers beat the 29-year-old man begging for money as the uptown A train pulled into the 59th St. station in Manhattan at 9:20 p.m. Saturday, cops said.
Medics took the panhandler to Mount Sinai West hospital.
The teens scattered after the train pulled into the station, but cops nabbed two suspects. They charged one teen, Justin Moore, 16, of Harlem, with gang assault and other offenses. Prosecutors declined to charge the other.
Moore’s lawyer and mom both say that while he was present, he didn’t attack the victim. His mom says he’s an honor student who takes advanced-placement classes.
“There is a video of the kids who were stomping the person. You can clearly see one was wearing a tan jacket, one was wearing a blue jacket. That’s not my son,” said his mother, Jaclyn Walker.
A judge released Moore on his own recognizance.