A Bronx man accused of stabbing a subway conductor 11 times as he was trying to clear a 4 train last month was arraigned Monday on attempted murder charges.
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified Jonathan Davalos, 27, as the suspect behind the vicious stabbing of MTA conductor Myron Pollack, who was weeks away from retiring when he was attacked on the morning of Oct. 8 at the Crown Heights-Utica Avenue station.
“This defendant is accused of viciously attacking and seriously injuring a hardworking train conductor who was simply doing his job,” said Gonzalez. “We will aggressively pursue full accountability for this violent assault. Keeping straphangers and transit workers safe is essential to the functioning of our city and a top priority for my office. We remain committed to ensuring that those who threaten the safety of our subways face the full consequences of their actions.”
Davalos was arraigned on Nov. 4 before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Deepa Ambekar on a 13-count indictment, which alleges that he refused to exit the train at the last stop and got into a verbal argument with 59-year-old Pollack.
Prosecutors allege that Davalos pulled a knife from his pocket and lunged at Pollack, who attempted to run down the platform. Davalos allegedly caught up with Pollack after he tripped and fell on the platform, after which he reportedly straddled Pollack and began stabbing him about the body.
Nearby officers were alerted by a passerby and responded to the scene. Davolos allegedly dropped his weapon after officers drew their firearms. He was arrested at the scene, while Pollack was taken to Kings County Hospital in serious condition.
From his hospital bed, Pollack told CBS News that he had “never seen a knife that big outside of a kitchen. And he just started stabbing and stabbing.”
In light of the stabbing, the MTA launched an ad campaign highlighting the 50,000 MTA workers who keep their fellow New Yorkers moving in a bid to humanize the transit workforce and to dissuade any riders from carrying out further attacks, verbally or physically.
Davalos is being held without bail and is due to return to court on Jan. 10 where he faces the charges of second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, among other charges.
