Brandon McNamara, 25, was arrested and charged with 2 counts of hate crime assault. (Photo: NYPD)
After two men were violently attacked late Saturday night in Williamsburg in an apparent hate crime, the suspect—whose photo has been spread all over news and social media—has turned himself in to police. Brandon McNamara, 25, of Middle Village, surrendered to the NYPD at the Lower East Side’s 7th Precinct. He was promptly arrested and charged with 2 counts each of hate crime assault, assault, aggravated harassment and harassment—McNamara does not have a prior criminal record.
Late Saturday night, two men had left gay bar Metropolitan (559 Lorimer Street). McNamara approached them as they were walking, about half a block around the corner from the bar on Metropolitan Avenue. He shouted a homophobic slur at them and then punched one in the face and shoved the other into a tree. He then beat both men unconscious and fled; the men were taken to the hospital, suffering broken bones. A bystander snapped a photo of McNamara, which was widely circulated this week as police searched for the suspect.
When it comes to sexual assault, it has been a devastating week here in Greenpoint. First, the NYPD apprehended a man who attempted to violently rape a Greenpoint woman, and now police are on the hunt for a man who groped a woman on Eckford Street and Meserole Avenue just before 2:30am on June 10th, and then forcibly touched another woman on June 21st near Meserole Avenue and McGuinness Boulevard.
The man approached both women via scooter, dismounted, and forcibly groped each on the sidewalk, then fled the scene.
Police request the public’s help in the investigation, and describe the suspect as “short and wearing a dark-colored jacket, a hat and carrying a bag with two stripes on it…his scooter is dark in color with a light on the front.”
If you have information regarding the investigation, call Crime Stoppers as 1-800-577-TIPS
a wanted poster on Meeker Avenue last week, for the attempted rape suspect
Last week, local police were searching for a man connected to an attempted rape near the intersection of Meeker Ave and Kingsland, and had put up posters with the suspect’s face on them all over Greenpoint to try to help track him down. The man allegedly forced his way into a woman’s apartment, threatened that he had a knife and then demanded the woman perform sexual acts. His picture was captured on surveillance camera, and thanks to a tipster the police have apprehended Darryl Williams of Crown Heights. Williams’ family, however, is defending him. According to the NY Post, his uncle says: “He’s a good kid,” and continues, “He’s got a phenomenal background. He’s [got] a support system. I raised my nephew. They’re just blowing it up to something that it’s not.”
Police are searching for a man in his mid-20s who forced his way into a 37-year-old woman’s apartment by Kingsland and Meeker Avenues yesterday afternoon, June 21st, and tried to rape her.
After knocking on her door, the man forced his way inside the apartment, pushed her into the bedroom, claimed he had a knife in his bag, and demanded sexual favors.
The Greenpoint woman punched her attacker and tried to flee, but he tackled her and attempted to remove her clothes. In the struggle, the woman was struck by the apartment door, and sustained a laceration to the back of her head. The attacker fled, and the victim was taken to Woodhull Hospital.
Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating the attacker. He is described as a black male 25-30 years old, between 5’11” and 6’2″ tall. Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Christophe Mastoros at 718-230-4421, or Detective Borough Brooklyn South at 718-287-3239.
Good morning, Greenpoint! It’s Friday, and time for the Hook-up. Sometimes, I think we should just rename this column “Another Week, the Same MTA,” since it seems that most of the things that get a line here are subway-related. That’s true as ever this week. Punch, Pepper-Spray, Hardware and High School are all, in their myriad and sundry ways, subway stories. So, step in, stand clear of the closing doors. Continue reading →
We know Greenpoint is Gorgeous. Could rents be dropping thanks to L-pocalpse?
Welcome to the Hook-up. We all know the MTA is a diva. But this time it’s not (all) about the L-pocalypse. In fact, this week, MTA honcho Andy Byford was crowing about a different set of repairs. His goal is to update the subway’s pre-war signal system, and he suggests he can get it done in 10-15 years! To put that in perspective, other estimates peg the time frame at 40 years. How will he do it? Suspending a lot of weekend service.
