At his arraignment via video from the Bellevue Hospital psych ward, Michael Findley, who was arrested after stealing a cab and crashing it into a lamppost off Union Square on Sunday morning, ranted at the judge over wanting to represent himself. Of course, it doesn't help his case that he is perfectly sane by beginning his arraignment with the question, "Who is the defendant?" more ›

In yesterday's arraignment of Renato Seabra, the model who is accused of violently murdering Portuguese journalist Carlos Castro in a Times Square hotel room, more gruesome details about the murder came out. Seabra said he placed Castro in a chokehold, stabbed and castrated him with a corkscrew, and then stomped his face so hard a bone in his neck broke. According to documents, "shoe impressions" were left on Castro's face. more ›

The Brooklyn actor accused of slashing his mother to death with a Masonic sword (he believed she was possessed by the devil) was arraigned yesterday from the hospital prison ward where he has been under psychiatric evaluation, and was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Brea reportedly did not speak and did not enter a plea, though he was quite talkative to the Daily News when he told them, "I just kept cutting her. No one could stop me. I was doing the work of God." more ›

Yesterday, five men accused of brutal anti-gay attacks were arraigned on hate crime charges including a, gang assault, sexual abuse, robbery and burglary. Two things to note: The Bronx DA's office listed two initial suspects in the attacks as victims and the judge warned the defendants' supporters not to make threats. more ›

Yesterday, Daniel Barricella was arraigned on charges of public lewdness, sexual abuse and harassment after a Brooklyn Tech student snapped a shot of him exposing himself and grinding against her on the N train. And though Assistant District Attorney Alex Fisch tried to use the photo as evidence, Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Kevin McGrath was apparently ready to take him at his word, saying, "I don’t want to see that." Good to know our legal system is bypassing reviewing evidence because penises are icky. more ›

The double homicide that took the lives of a Marine Park husband and wife remains unsolved, but authorities are expected to arraign four individuals for money scams connected with the 2008 execution-style killings. So far, no one has been indicted for shooting and killing lawyers Christina Petrowski-Schwartz, 48, and Mark Schwartz, 50, in their Brooklyn home—but investigators believe the killings were connected with "wide-ranging financial scams" that might have involved the deceased attorneys. more ›

A man suspected of beating his girlfriend and assaulting a police officer escaped from a Bronx court yesterday when he pretended to be another prisoner facing lesser charges. Michael Bautista, 22, was mistakenly released after assuming the identity of man accused of driving with a suspended license and was allowed to walk out of the 44th Precinct on East 161st Street after his arraignment at around 10 am. more ›

At his arraignment today, the father of accused terrorist Najibullah Zazi pleaded not guilty to charges of obstructing the investigation of his son by destroying evidence—glasses, chemical bottles and masks that could have been the materials for homemade bombs. The hearing in Brooklyn Federal Court was kept secret and not marked on a public calendar, but there was a recording. After pleading not guilty, Mohamed Wali Zazi was told he'd no longer be released on bail (before today he was being monitored electronically). Prosecutors were against letting him free because of the "gravity of his charges" and the "risk of flight," reports the Post. more ›

A Bronx teen being arraigned in connection with the shooting of 15-year-old Vada Vasquez doesn't seem too penitent. Clivie Smith, one of the five thugs charged with the November shooting, plead not guilty. After the proceeding, the 19-year-old was being escorted from the courtroom when he spotted two of his friends. According to the New York Post he shouted "What up, man?" Then, pretending to be scared, he cried out "Daddy!" breaking the tension in the room, as onlookers erupted in laughter. It may not help his case, but the alleged ringleader of the incident sure likes to talk. Previously Smith told the Post the cops were "crooked, crooked, crooked." He added that being held at Rikers is "like having the worst migraine you can ever have." more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Former Nets player Jayson Williams is being arraigned on drunk driving charges this morning from his bed in Bellevue, where he's being treated for injuries sustained in his Tuesday morning car crash. The arraignment will be broadcast live into Manhattan Supreme Court via a camera setup in his room, and if there's any justice in this world someone will have the good sense to leak it to TMZ. (Or tips@gothamist.com!) Though it was originally reported that Williams's injuries were minor, he did chip a bone in his neck when he crashed his Mercedes-Benz SUV into a tree at the FDR exit at East 20th Street. Sources tell TMZ that Williams is "in and out of consciousness," which doesn't really sound all that different from his usual condition. more ›

The NY Times visited Room 129 at Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday, "It is one of the rooms on the main floor of the courthouse where many of the men and women arrested in Manhattan are arraigned," finding it humming with activity, even though it was New Year's Eve. more ›

Though prosecutors say he gave a written and videotaped confession, the 16-year-old Bronx boy accused of shooting two teens on a crowded street Monday afternoon pleaded not guilty at his arraignment yesterday. As his mother wept in the third row of the courtroom, Carvett Gentles and four other young men—all members of the "Gorilla Stone Blood" gang—were arraigned and sent to Rikers Island without bail. Gentles lawyer maintained his client's innocence, insisting, "He does well in school, he comes from a nice family." But some members of this "nice family" happen to be the older gang members who allegedly handed Gentles the gun and told him to shoot—because he was the only one without an arrest record. more ›

The off-duty officer who fatally ran over a woman hailing a cab in Brooklyn on a rainy night in September pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, and other charges yesterday. Officer Andrew Kelly, a seven-year veteran assigned to the 68th Precinct, was driving with another off-duty officer and three civilians when he struck Vionique Valnord, 32, around 1 a.m. on September 27th. more ›

The woman who crashed a van full of foster children into oncoming traffic in Queens on Monday confessed to police that she smoked crack cocaine around 1 or 2 a.m., did heroin around 9 a.m., and drank one alcoholic beverage around noon that same day. Sheila Bethea, 45, also admitted to speeding, and told police she did not know 5-year-olds needed to be in car seats. (None of her passengers were even wearing seat belts.) Perhaps even more devastating is the revelation that the children were supposed to taken to their foster care appointment in a cab. more ›

The alleged serial rapist who terrorized Upper Manhattan for over a month tried to make a break for it during his arraignment Monday night. He didn't get very far. According to the Post, an unidentified young woman—believed to be a girlfriend—was in the Manhattan Criminal Court room sobbing and blowing kisses at suspect Vincent Heyward, whose DNA matched all four victims. When Heyward saw her, he bolted for the back door of the courtroom, pursued by more than a dozen court officers. more ›

State Senator Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) will be arraigned today on felony assault charges. He is accused of assaulting his girlfriend Karla Giraldo with a broken glass, leaving with her a black eye and a gash that required 20 stitches. And it seems that his colleagues are allowed to chip in for his legal expenses. more ›

While millions across New York City were celebrating Barack Obama's election victory on November 4th, a group of young Staten Island men went on a violent rampage that left two young black men beaten and another man in a coma, prosecutors say. Three of the alleged attackers were arraigned in Federal District Court in Brooklyn today and charged with conspiracy to interfere with voting rights in their efforts to "injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate" black people on election night, the Times reports. Each plead not guilty. more ›

Former police commissioner Bernard Kerik pleaded not guilty to additional charges at his arraignment in federal court yesterday. The Daily News reports the new charges accuse him of "falsifying income tax records and not declaring a BMW luxury car he got as payment for consulting services." Kerik was previously indicted on 16 other charges, including conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, tax fraud and making false statements (to the Department of Homeland Security), last year. Kerik had requested his DHS-related trial be moved from Washington D.C. to White Plains, but White Plains Federal Court Judge Stephen Robinson shot that down for now. Kerik is due back in court in February. more ›