Results tagged “punch”

Yesterday, a federal judge called a mistrial in a liability lawsuit, because the jurors were fighting! The case, heard at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, centered around accusations that Merck's Fosamax causes severe dental and jaw problems. Juror Theresa Ciccone had decided against Merck; she tells the Post, "There were e-mails that Merck knew about these effects since 1999 and they weren't putting any warnings on the drugs. On the first day of deliberations, [the other jurors] were sure Merck was right. To them, Merck was gold. Merck was God." After more than a week of deliberating, Ciccone stuck to her guns and then one threw a chair, but she isn't mad at him, "He was one of the more reasonable guys. He was a young father who was afraid to lose his business because it was taking so long." Still, a female juror said to her, "Oh, I'm going to punch you in the head." Ciccone says one juror didn't even read the evidence, while the other jurors said she was holding things up because she didn't understand the evidence. The jury's forewoman told the Daily News, "All hell broke loose. There was a lot of verbal abuse. People calling each other stupid and crazy. It was childish. ... I don't want to do jury duty for at least another 20 years." You can see the letters from the jurors here.

The Post reports that apparently a man was beaten up at a five-year high school reunion--arranged via Facebook--by an old classmate still "harboring a...gym-class grudge." Backstory: Years ago, at Half Hollows Hills High in Dix Hills, Long Island, Adam Lynn and Lucas Robak were suspended after a school hallway fight; Lynn's lawyer explained that Robak "picked a fight after a hotly contested gym-class handball game during their junior year." Fast-forward to November 2007, at the 5-year reunion, when Robak held Lynn while fellow classmate Jacob Namer beat him up. Lynn is suing Robak (who was never charged), Namer (charged but got off on a technicality) and the owners of the now-closed bar, Proof, where the reunion was held (for serving drinks to the supposedly visibly drunk Robak and Namer).

According to witnesses, 17-year-old Jessica Williams got a powerful punch in the mouth after mouthing off to NYPD housing cop Desmond Nichols last Sunday outside the Tompkins Houses in Bed-Stuy. The trouble started when Nichols stopped Williams for riding her bike on the sidewalk and asked to see her I.D. When pressed for her apartment number, she reportedly dismissed Nichols as a "rookie." This struck a nerve with Nichols (who is, in fact, a rookie), and he allegedly punched her in the face, remarking, "I had enough of your smart mouth." Williams's jaw broke in two places, and she's awaiting surgery to insert metal plates. After that, a lawsuit! Nichols is under investigation, but he insists Williams threw the first punch. After the altercation he charged her with resisting arrest and marijuana possession.

WNBC reports that 66-year-old Nick Nowillo died after a confrontation with an attacker on Crescent Avenue in Long Island City. The 43-year-old attacker, who was arrested but not identified, allegedly hit Nowillo several times, including punching him so hard that he died at Astoria General Hospital later. Nowillo, who had been escorting a woman home because she felt the suspect "was...acting strangely" in the street, was a beloved figure in the neighborhood, nicknamed the "Mayor of Long Island City."

A 37-year veteran teacher is accused of punching and throttling a 12-yea-old student. Scott Antwork, 58, teaches at PS 54 in Richmond Hill and Queens DA Richard Brown says Antwork "punched 12-year-old Edgar Lopez in the head with a closed fist, placed him in a choke hold and then grabbed the student's right arm and pushed him into a table." Two students say that Lopez first punched Antwork. The teacher has been "reassigned" and is charged with third-degree assault, second-degree harassment and child endangerment.

Police arrested an 18-year-old suspect in the punch-grab-and-run mugging of a 62-year-old woman in front of the Catholic school where she is a teacher. Patricia McGowan was approached by a young man in front of the Good Shepherd School before 7 a.m. this past Monday, who then shoved her against the school's front gate and then punched her hard in the face, knocking McGowan to the ground. Surveillance tapes captured the whole attack on tape, which led to Eric Ferguson's arrest Friday morning.

The police released surveillance video showing a 62-year-old woman being mugged in hopes someone will be able to identify the attacker. This past Monday morning around 6:40 a.m., Patricia McGowan was heading to Good Shepherd School in Marine Park, a Catholic school where she has worked for 43 years as a math and computer teacher, when a young man approached her.