Crown Heights Race Riots Killer Stabbed With Ice Pick

Lemrick Nelson in 1997 (AP)

Lemrick Nelson, who was convicted of stabbing Hasidic scholar Yankel Rosenbaum during the 1991 Crown Heights race riots, was found stabbed in the head early Sunday morning. Nelson was found unconscious on Riverside Drive near West 168th Street, outside of his car, at 1 a.m. A bloodied ice pick was also discovered next to him; he was taken to Harlem Hospital Center where he is now in stable condition. A spokesman for the Rosenbaum family told the Daily News, "Thou who drowns someone else, will drown. It is now that the stabber gets stabbed. To Nelson, a crime with a knife involved is like bagel and lox."

According to the Post, the 35-year-old "had driven across the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey, where he now lives, cops said." It's believed he was involved in a road rage incident "that turned physical." The NY Times reminds readers of the Crown Heights riots:

The Crown Heights disturbances were set in motion on Aug. 19, 1991, when Gavin Cato, a 7-year-old black boy, was struck and killed by a vehicle in the motorcade of the leader of the Lubavitcher Hasidic sect.

The authorities said Mr. Nelson, then 16, was part of an angry crowd of blacks who, not long after the accident, descended upon Yankel Rosenbaum, a 29-year-old scholar from Australia, a few blocks away. Mr. Rosenbaum was stabbed four times and later died.

Mr. Nelson was acquitted in State Supreme Court but then convicted in a federal trial. After that verdict was overturned, he was convicted in a second trial of violating Mr. Rosenbaum’s civil rights.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was released the next year because he had already served time for the overturned conviction.

Rosenbaum's brother told the Post, "I feel for him as much as he felt for my brother. This guy, we know, is a bad person, a violent person. There's an irony in it that he's been involved in two attacks that we know of, and now he's attacked with an ice pick. It certainly doesn't bring my brother back, but maybe he understands the pain and suffering my brother felt."

Police are reviewing surveillance video from the area.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on September 13, 2010 9:28 AM

Comments [rss]

John L

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

HypocraticOath

Great news, it couldnt have happened to a nicer guy.

JEWS are THE best - SCREW libs

Payback is a bitch MUAHAHA

Glad we got this POS to Harlem hospital instead of the much nicer Columbia Presbyterian. He deserved the worst treatment MUAHAHAHAH

Rocknrope

Did I do thaaaaat?

rasputinsghost

rot in hell, you goofy-looking racist monster

Mr Mel

Maybe Dinkins and the Rev will pay him a visit and try to cheer him up.

CR

No, maybe they'll throw a big party for this guy like they did after he was found not guilty for killing a guy after he killed a guy (in a race riot). His life of crime and violence should really be rewarded.

freddynyc

+1

robingee

The bagel and lox comment is... weird.

ktinnyc

They're Hasidic Jews. They have very different frames of references than the general public. If they were Gothamist readers the quote would be something like, "To Nelson, a crime with a knife involved is like Lohan and a DUI."

Eugene

lol Thanks for the pick-me-up.

jza1218

I like starting the day on a good note.

sharpshoota

Puzzling....the guy is directly behind Columbia-Presbyterian literally, but ends up at Harlem Hospital? How does that happen?

John L

One of the first questions the EMTs ask you now is if you have health insurance and depending on your answer that is where you'll go. Anyone with poor insurance or none at all goes to Harlem Hospital, even if you're a block away from Columbia-Presbyterian. It's really disgusting and I'm sure has cost some lives.

I grew up in that area and a few years ago an elderly father of a friend of mine was in a very bad accident where he was hit and dragged by a car. This incident happened exactly three blocks away from Columbia-Presbyterian yet he was taken to Harlem Hospital.

I remember years ago when Columbia-Presbyterian would treat you first them ask you about insurance, now they'll literally let you die in transport.