Manhattan prosecutors have dropped the charges against a biker arrested for attacking a man during a violent gang assault on the West Side Highway Sunday.
Credit: Metro Photo Archive
Manhattan prosecutors have dropped the charges against a biker arrested for attacking a man during a violent gang assault on the West Side Highway Sunday.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to charge Allen Edwards, 42, pending further investigation of the incident.
Chief of the Trial Division, Karen Friedman-Agnifilo, who is overseeing the case, said in a statement that the office was taking the incident “extremely seriously” but will proceed to build the strongest case.
“Prematurely charging individuals with low-level crimes does not further the goals of the investigation, and could weaken the cases we expect to bring against the perpetrators of serious crimes,” Friedman-Agnifilo said. “After we investigate the facts and each person’s individual actions, we will know what charges can be supported by the evidence. There is still a tremendous amount of investigation to be done.”
Edwards was released after turning himself in on Tuesday afternoon.
He is one of two suspects police were seeking in connection with the assault of a man driving an SUV with his wife and 2-year-old daughter inside after a chase captured on video.
The chase began when the SUV driver, Alexian Lien, hit a motorcyclist who stopped short in front of his car.
A group of 20 to 30 bikers the motorcyclist was with started to attack Lien’s car and Lien sped off, running over some of the bikers in the process.
Cops said the bikers slashed Lien’s tires, flattening them, which is why Lien was forced to exit the highway and pull over in front of 610 West 178th Street.
Police said one of the bikers then smashed Lien’s driver’s side window repeatedly with his helmet, while another–suspected to be Edwards—punched his car multiple times.
Police said they then pulled Lien out of the car and beat him up in front of his wife and two-year-old daughter.
The NYPD was offering a $2,000 reward for the arrest and indictment of the two men. The second suspect is still at large, police said.
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