Man Accused Of Attacking NYC Cabbie Indicted
NEW YORK (CBS 2/1010 WINS/AP) -- The college student accused of stabbing a Muslim taxi driver because of his religion was indicted by a grand jury Monday evening.
Sources tell CBS 2 and 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa that Michael Enright was charged with attempted murder in the second degree, as a hate crime as well as assault as a hate crime.
The 21-year-old from Brewster, N.Y., was accused of using a folding knife to slash the face and neck of the driver, Ahmed H. Sharif, an immigrant from Bangladesh, last week after asking whether he's a Muslim.
Enright waived his right to be in court as his indictment was announced. He was being held without bail in a psychiatric ward until an arraignment next month.
Enright's lawyer, Lawrence Fisher, declined to comment on the charges.
But he lambasted unspecified reporters for attempting to visit Enright in custody and raised the "heinous and egregious" prospect that journalists might have peeked into a prior Enright lawyer's file when it was inadvertently left for a time on a courthouse bench last week.
Enright has refused to speak with reporters, and Fisher said he might ask a judge to bar media representatives from trying to visit the student.
"I don't think that is really an acceptable practice," he said. A judge noted his remarks but took no action.
If convicted, Enright could face up to 25 years in prison.
