A registered sex offender who has been described as a ‘gloved beast’ who needed intervention from the governor of New York to stay in jail has been charged with a misdemeanor.
Bui Van Phu, 55, a registered sex offender who has spent six years in prison with lifetime parole, appeared in Bronx Criminal Court Thursday.
Court records obtained by DailyMail.com indicate Phu’s charges are now second-degree assault.
Bail was set at $100,000 cash, $300,000 bond and $500,000 partially secured bond. He remains in the custody of the NYC Department of Corrections on a ‘parole hold’ and is due back in court on December 15.
Jesus Cortes, 52, was left with a fractured skull and a brain bleed after the attack by Van Phu in the Bronx on August 12.
Bronx DA Darcel Clark said in a statement, ‘The defendant, a parolee, allegedly struck a man once, and he fell, suffering terrible injuries. An investigation led to the defendant being charged with second-degree Assault. Fortunately, the victim is progressing in his recovery. I have met with him and his family and we are providing crime victims services to them as well.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to New York Governor Kathy Hochul for comment.
A registered sex offender who has been described as a ‘gloved beast’ who need intervention from the governor of New York to stay in jail has been charged with a misdemeanor
Bui Van Phu, 55, a registered sex offender who has spent six years in prison with lifetime parole, appeared in Bronx Criminal Court Thursday
Van Phu was arraigned before George Vilegas (pictured) in Bronx Supreme Court
Court records obtained by DailyMail.com indicate Phu’s charges are now second-degree assault
The basis of the charges is because Phu ‘intentionally (caused) physical injury and with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person’
Bui was initially freed without bail by prosecutors who reduced his charges to a misdemeanor after the terrifying assault was caught on video
Van Phu was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after punching a diner, fracturing his skull and causing a brain bleed
Bail was set at $100,000 cash, $300,000 bond and $500,000 partially secured bond. Phu is due back in court on December 15
Phu is a registered sex offender who was convicted for raping a woman at gunpoint on December 24, 1994, according to court records viewed by DailyMail.com. Above, a gallery of mugshots available on his sex offender profile
Jesus Cortes, 52, (left) suffered a a fractured skull and a brain bleed after the attack by Van Phu Bui, 55, (right) earlier this year
Daisy Gomez, Cortes’ niece, gave a lively, impromptu press conference after court was adjourned Thursday.
Gomez said that Phu’s lawyer’s arguments made him look ‘very stupid’ and ‘there’s not much you can say. What can you do when there’s cameras, there’s evidence, there’s video? Everything you need is proof.’
She added that she doesn’t understand why Phu did it and said ‘that one punch can lead to somebody’s death.’
Bui was initially freed without bail by prosecutors who reduced his charges to a misdemeanor after the terrifying assault was caught on video.
They claimed that the evidence would only allow the misdemeanor charges at the time, despite police issuing the surveillance footage.
However he was then thrown in jail after New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged prosecutors to upgrade charges against him.
She claimed that the attack and arrest was a violation of his lifetime parole for the sex conviction.
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office had asked a grand jury to upgrade his charges to a felony.
Juan Cortes, the victim’s brother, was in attendance at the hearing.
Juan Cortes, the victim’s brother, was in attendance at the hearing
Jesus Cortes, 52, Juan’s brother was left with a fractured skull and a brain bleed after the attack by Van Phu in the Bronx on August 12
Horrifying surveillance video captures the moment Bui put on a pair of gloves and swung with great force, hitting the victim in the back of the head.
He then immediately falls to the floor, appearing to be unconscious, banging his head on the concrete after the sudden attack.
The NYPD claim that he ‘without prior conversation or altercation’ punched the victim in the face, before ‘returning back into the restaurant and later to parts unknown’.
Bui whined to the New York Post that he couldn’t remember anything about the attack, saying he ‘blacked out.’
He said: ‘He’s alive. He’s not dead. I thank God he survived. I didn’t want to hurt him that bad. I just hit him once.
Daisy Gomez, the victim’s niece speaks to the media on Thursday after he was arraigned
‘I can’t really remember anything. I was so mad,.I’ve never done anything like that before. That was my first time.
‘I’m not a violent person. I’m not like that. I wouldn’t do it again. I’m sorry. I know I did something wrong. That’s why I turned myself in.
‘The judge told me don’t talk to him and stay away from him but If I could see him, I’d apologize and tell him I’m sorry. If he wants me to pay the medical, I don’t mind paying his medical (bills).’
Bui was called an ‘imminent threat to the community’ at a parole hearing Saturday after New York Governor Kathy Hochul had ordered him back in jail.
His parole officer, Nixa Rivera, spoke at his hearing: ‘Mr. Bui is a 55-year-old male with a persistent violent felony offender history.
‘Mr. Bui is a registered level three sex offender, the highest level on the sexual offender registry. Mr. Bui continues to be an imminent threat to the community.’
Rivera added that Bui has been living in a shelter for six years and has no apparent family or ties to the community.
His only job has been working the cash register at a nail salon for the past two years.
Shortly before the attack Bui positions himself behind his victim, before raining down a vicious blow in front of a group of other people outside of the restaurant
Bui was called an ‘imminent threat to the community’ at a parole hearing Saturday after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered him back in jail
Cortes’s brother Juan Cortes told DailyMail.com that his brother is recovering and has been taken off a ventilator
Juan Cortes called Bui an ‘evil person’ and said the felony charges should’ve been there from the start.
Court records obtained by DailyMail.com indicate the lesser charges were laid because Bui ‘intentionally (caused) physical injury and with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person.’
Bui was convicted of attempted robbery in 1991 and is a registered sex offender – who was out on parole after being convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl at gunpoint on Christmas Eve, 1994. He was released from prison in March 2019
In horrifying footage released by the NYPD, Bui is seen walking out of the Fuego Tipico restaurant in the Bronx and pulling on a pair of gloves.
He is then seen punching the victim with great force in the back of the head. The victim was found unconscious and unresponsive on the ground after the unprovoked attack and was rushed to the hospital.
In a conversation with Bui’s parole officer, documented by the court, he recounts the incident: ‘I’m in trouble. I hit someone and he’s in the hospital.
‘I don’t know if he’s dead. The police are looking for me. I was at the restaurant and I know the police are looking for me.’