‘Diabetes defense’ in elevator attack
A construction worker accused of pummeling a disabled man in a Manhattan elevator is blaming the brutal attack on his diabetes — and could skirt jail time under a sweetheart plea deal, The Post has learned.
Andrew Caban, 49, claimed he was suffering from a hypoglycemic episode when he suckerpunched 61-year-old Richard Regen on Feb. 2, 2023, as the victim was heading to rehab for a stroke suffered two years earlier.
“I’ve suffered diabetes for a very long time, from a very young age. I’ve had hypoglycemic episodes previously, and I’m so sorry this has happened,” Caban said in Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday. “I was reckless. There were no intentions at all — I had no intentions to harm him.”
Speaking to The Post after the hearing, Regen’s wife ripped the excuse as an example of the “Twinkie defense” — and said her husband has diabetes himself and has never acted the way Caban did in the West 23rd Street building elevator.
The attack was captured on the building’s surveillance cameras, showing Caban landing a knockout blow and then casually walking out of the elevator, leaving Regen lying unconscious on the floor.
Caban, who could have faced up to a year in jail, pleaded guilty to reckless assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor, as part of a deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office that could see him get off with just a slap on the wrist.
“He is a father of a daughter. He is genuinely remorseful for what he did and this is his first criminal offense,” Assistant District Attorney Daniel Robinson told Judge Michael Gaffney when probed about the offer.
Restraining order
The prosecutor acknowledged that Regen was left with “ongoing trauma, probably for the rest of his life,” during the attack, but stood by the deal in which Caban would get time served and a restraining order to stay away from the victim.
Defense attorney Effie Blassberger claimed Caban suffered a “well documented” hypoglycemic episode and that the brazen attack would have never happened had his diabetes been in check.
As he issued the half-hearted apology, Caban claimed his life had “changed as much as Mr. Regen’s” — drawing scorn and shocked laughter from the victim’s relatives, who sat in the gallery.
‘Shock will never go away’
“He’s a really good actor,” one of Regen’s family members quipped before Caban claimed he didn’t “fully recall” what happened during the attack due to his “condition.”
Regen was also in court — and his wife, Lili, delivered an impact statement on his behalf.
“My husband has completely lost his independence, his cognitive skills, the stability of his health forever by the permanent damage caused by a human fist crushing his skull into his brain,” she said. “The shock and repercussions remain constantly and will never go away.”
Lili told The Post outside the courtroom that her husband, a former journalist and screenwriter, has suffered from repeated seizures and has been hospitalized four times since the attack.
Legal experts told The Post it’s common for seemingly dubious defenses to be argued in court.
“In this case, people should not be so quick to say that his claimed reason for throwing the punch . . . his mental state and being in an altered state, even for a short while, is not legitimate and founded on accepted scientific principles,” said Robert Gottlieb, an attorney who has worked for decades in state and federal courts. “Clearly, the prosecutors gave it serious thought.”
The civil case is pending. Caban’s next court date in the criminal case is May 31.