A convicted sex-offender, who spent several years in prison and was released on parole in 2019, and who allegedly knocked a man off his feet on a Bronx street last week, which resulted in brain injuries to the victim and a coma, was released without bail and was walking the streets last week.
The attack was unprovoked and out-of-the-blue.
Jesus Cortes left the Fuego Tipico Restaurant in the Bronx in the late evening on August 12, and was seen in surveillance video carrying a backpack and being followed by a man in a black tee-shirt and balding.
The man that was following Cortes then put on work gloves and struck Cortes from behind. The victim fell on the sidewalk and hit his head. The crime is seen on video that was released on Wednesday.
The victim suffered a skull fracture, as well as a broken cheekbone and a brain bleed. He required surgery and was in a medically-induced coma. He was taken off his ventilator on Sunday and the family tweeted that he is stable.
The suspect, Bui Van Phu, 55, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, but the charge was changed later and downgraded, by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, to assault and harassment, both misdemeanors. The DA’s office said they are using the available evidence and the crime is under investigation.
The new charges against Phu did not require bail, and therefore a Bronx judge released him during his arraignment on Thursday, according to the DA’s Office.
Phu has a previous criminal history of first-degree sexual abuse, in 1995 in the Bronx. At the time, he was sentenced to six years to life in prison.
He was released on parole in 2019 and is registered as a sex offender, for sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl in 1994.
When asked about the hit on Cortes, Phu allegedly confessed to his parole officer that he had hit Cortes and knocked him down. “I hit someone and he’s in the hospital. I don’t know if he’s dead,” he said. “The police are looking for me.”
However, in a twist of fate, and due to public outcry and the quick action of Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, a second hearing was held, and it was determined that Phu had violated his parole and was sent back to Riker’s Island Prison in New York over the weekend.
Governor Hochul said she contacted the Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, and ordered corrections officials to “immediately examine” if Phu violated parole terms following his August 12 attack on Cortes.
Maybe justice will be served this time.
