Monday, July 08, 2019
Two men plead not guilty in assault of Hasidic man outside Monroe Town Hall
Two men charged with assaulting and robbing a fellow Hasidic man outside Monroe Town Hall were arraigned Monday in Orange County Court on robbery and criminal mischief charges.
The victim, Herman Wagschal, is one of the organizers of the effort to create the 1.9-square-mile, 610-resident Village of Seven Springs next to Kiryas Joel, and he was en route to deliver a revised petition related to that effort to Monroe Town Hall the morning of March 28 when two men accosted him.
Shlome Katz, 32, of Monroe was arrested immediately after the attack in Town Hall. Moses Hirsch, 31, of Monroe, turned himself in the next day to Ramapo police in Suffern.
Wagschal, who has a carry permit, was wearing his handgun in a holster at the time. He said he did not brandish the gun; Monroe Supervisor Tony Cardone told police Wagschal “attempted to draw the firearm to defend himself,” causing the assailants to flee.
An Orange County grand jury indicted Hirsch and Katz on a count of second-degree robbery, a felony; and misdemeanor criminal mischief. Hirsch also faces a misdemeanor arson count. Both men are free on $10,000 bail.
On Monday in front of Judge William DeProspo, their lawyer, Daniel Castricone, entered not-guilty pleas on behalf of his clients.
“They waited for the victim to arrive at Town Hall,” Senior Assistant District Attorney Christopher Kelly said in court, and then they set upon him from behind. “They wrestled with him, they stomped him and they hit him.”
They took the petition, Kelly said, and Katz took Wagschal’s phone and fled with it into Town Hall. Hirsch took the petition and took it to a stream, where he burned the papers, Kelly said.
Neither defendant has any criminal records, Kelly, said, so prosecutors didn’t oppose maintaining the posted bail.
DeProspo advised Katz and Hirsch that the law discourages co-defendants. He scheduled a court date on Aug 1 for the men to decide if they wish to continue, or have new counsel for one of them.
After court Castricone said his clients belong to a small faction of anti-Zionist Hasidim who believe that they are in exile until the Messiah returns. They believe they must be subservient to secular authorities, Castricone said. They don’t vote, they oppose the Orthodox community forming villages, and oppose Kiryas Joel’s village government and school district.
“There’s a lot of evidence yet to come out,” Castricone said. “I’m confident that my clients will be found not guilty.”
https://www.recordonline.com/news/20190708/two-men-plead-not-guilty-in-assault-of-hasidic-man-outside-monroe-town-hall
The victim, Herman Wagschal, is one of the organizers of the effort to create the 1.9-square-mile, 610-resident Village of Seven Springs next to Kiryas Joel, and he was en route to deliver a revised petition related to that effort to Monroe Town Hall the morning of March 28 when two men accosted him.
Shlome Katz, 32, of Monroe was arrested immediately after the attack in Town Hall. Moses Hirsch, 31, of Monroe, turned himself in the next day to Ramapo police in Suffern.
Wagschal, who has a carry permit, was wearing his handgun in a holster at the time. He said he did not brandish the gun; Monroe Supervisor Tony Cardone told police Wagschal “attempted to draw the firearm to defend himself,” causing the assailants to flee.
An Orange County grand jury indicted Hirsch and Katz on a count of second-degree robbery, a felony; and misdemeanor criminal mischief. Hirsch also faces a misdemeanor arson count. Both men are free on $10,000 bail.
On Monday in front of Judge William DeProspo, their lawyer, Daniel Castricone, entered not-guilty pleas on behalf of his clients.
“They waited for the victim to arrive at Town Hall,” Senior Assistant District Attorney Christopher Kelly said in court, and then they set upon him from behind. “They wrestled with him, they stomped him and they hit him.”
They took the petition, Kelly said, and Katz took Wagschal’s phone and fled with it into Town Hall. Hirsch took the petition and took it to a stream, where he burned the papers, Kelly said.
Neither defendant has any criminal records, Kelly, said, so prosecutors didn’t oppose maintaining the posted bail.
DeProspo advised Katz and Hirsch that the law discourages co-defendants. He scheduled a court date on Aug 1 for the men to decide if they wish to continue, or have new counsel for one of them.
After court Castricone said his clients belong to a small faction of anti-Zionist Hasidim who believe that they are in exile until the Messiah returns. They believe they must be subservient to secular authorities, Castricone said. They don’t vote, they oppose the Orthodox community forming villages, and oppose Kiryas Joel’s village government and school district.
“There’s a lot of evidence yet to come out,” Castricone said. “I’m confident that my clients will be found not guilty.”
https://www.recordonline.com/news/20190708/two-men-plead-not-guilty-in-assault-of-hasidic-man-outside-monroe-town-hall
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