A registered sex offender who punched a guy into a coma and has been called a “gloved beast” was charged with a crime on Thursday.
On Thursday, 55-year-old registered sex offender Bui Van Phu made an appearance in Bronx Criminal Court after serving six years in jail and being granted lifelong parole. Despite the fact that Phu was only charged with a misdemeanour in the outset by the Bronx District Attorney’s office, New York Governor Kathy Hochul personally intervened in the case to guarantee that he would stay behind bars.
According to court documents acquired by DailyMail.com, Phu is now facing felony charges for second-degree assault.
Bail was established at $100,000 in cash, $500,000 in partly secured bonds, and $300,000 in bond. He is still being held by the NYC Department of Corrections on a “parole hold,” and his next court appearance is scheduled for December 15.
After Van Phu’s assault in the Bronx on August 12, 52-year-old Jesus Cortes had a cracked skull and a cerebral haemorrhage.
In a statement, Bronx DA Darcel Clark said, “The defendant, a parolee, is claimed to have hit a guy once, causing him to fall and sustain serious injuries.
The defendant was charged with second-degree assault after an inquiry. Fortunately, the victim’s recuperation is going well. I spoke with him and his family, and we are also offering them resources for crime victims.
Thursday’s court session ended with Daisy Gomez, Cortes’ niece, holding a raucous, impromptu news conference.
Gomez said that Phu’s arguments made him seem “extremely foolish” and that “there isn’t much you can say.” What can you do when there are cameras, proof, and video? Evidence is all you need.
She said, “I don’t know why Phu did it,” adding “that one punch may result in somebody’s death.”
The victim’s brother, Juan Cortes, also attended the court.
Prosecutors lowered Phu’s charges to a misdemeanour after the horrifying attack was seen on film and they first released him without bond.
Despite police providing the CCTV tape, prosecutors stated that the evidence would only support the minor charges at the time.
But when New York Governor Kathy Hochul encouraged prosecutors to enhance the charges against him, he was subsequently imprisoned.
She said that his lifetime parole for the sex conviction was broken by the assault and arrest.
His charges had been raised to felonies after a grand jury request from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.
Bui put on a pair of gloves and struck the victim in the back of the head with significant force as it was caught on horrifying security footage.
After the abrupt assault, he quickly collapses to the ground, looking to be unconscious and hitting his head on the pavement.
According to the NYPD, he allegedly hit the victim in the face “without previous dialogue or dispute” before “returning back inside the restaurant and afterwards to places unknown.”
Bui complained to the New York Post that he had “blacked out” and had no memory of the assault.
“He’s alive,” he said. He’s still alive. I’m grateful that he made it. I didn’t really want to harm him. I just struck him once.
I truly don’t recall anything. I was furious. That is something I have never done before. I had never done it before.
I don’t like to use violence. I’m not that way. I wouldn’t repeat it. I apologise. I am aware that I erred. I turned myself in because of this.
The court ordered me to avoid him and not speak to him, but if I could meet him, I would apologise to him and express my regret. I don’t mind paying his medical (bills) if that’s what he wants.
At a parole hearing after being sent back to prison by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Bui was described as a “imminent menace to the community.”
At the hearing, Mr. Bui’s parole officer, Nixa Rivera, said the following: “Mr. Bui is a 55-year-old guy with a consistent history of violent criminal offending.
The highest classification on the sexual offender list, level three, is assigned to Mr. Bui. Mr. Bui still poses a serious danger to the neighbourhood.
Bui, who has been in a shelter for six years, has no obvious relatives or links to the neighbourhood, according to Rivera.
For the last two years, his only employment has been operating the cash register at a nail salon.
Juan Cortes described Bui as a “evil guy” and said that criminal charges ought to have been brought against him right away.
The lower charges were brought against Bui because he “deliberately (caused) bodily damage and with purpose to disturb, irritate, or scare another person,” according to court documents acquired by DailyMail.com.
Bui can be seen leaving the Bronx eatery Fuego Tipico while putting on gloves in disturbing video obtained by the NYPD.
The victim is then shown being severely punched in the back of the head by him. After the unprovoked assault, the victim was discovered unconscious and lifeless on the ground and was sent to the hospital right away.
Bui describes the event in a chat with his parole officer that was recorded and shown to the court: “I’m in trouble. Someone I struck is now in the hospital.
I’m not sure whether he’s deceased. Police are trying to find me. I know the cops are searching for me since I was at the restaurant.