Man accused of murdering food delivery worker Zhiwen Yan released on $500,000 cash bail
NEW YORK -- There are concerns from the community after the man accused in the shooting death of a Queens Chinese food delivery worker over duck sauce was released on bail.
Glenn Hirsch entered the court room surrounded by members of the New York State Courts Special Response Team. The 51-year-old, who was charged with stalking and murdering Zhiwen Yan, a 45-year-old father and restaurant worker, was released on $500,000 cash bail on Monday, CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis reported.
The judge spelled out the terms, saying, "You are not being released to walk around Queens County."
Hirsch will be under electric monitoring and must stay home. There are a few exceptions -- court, appointments with his doctor or attorney, and one hour of daily exercise.
READ MORE: Queens community demands justice in fatal shooting of beloved deliveryman Zhiwen Yan
Hirsch is prohibited from areas including where he allegedly shot Yan during a delivery in April, and Great Wall Chinese Restaurant, where prosecutors say he stalked and threatened workers.
"If you go in that area, a monitor is going to go off. Also, there are enough people definitely around who just hate you, so I'm sure they're gonna take a picture of you, if they see you in an area where you should not be and send them to the court. You understand?" the judge said.
"Understood, judge," Hirsch replied.
Prosecutors believe a dispute over a takeout order in November became an obsessive point of contention for Hirsch, leading to the alleged crimes, and requested he be held without bail. That's what concerned lawmakers, including Congresswoman Grace Meng, were hoping for. Ahead of the hearing, Meng, state Sens. Toby Stavisky, Joe Addabbo, and Leroy Comrie, plus Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi and City Councilwoman Lynn Schulman issued a joint statement on the possibility of bail for Hirsch.
"There are concerns about the number of weapons he had. There are concerns that he may pose a danger either to the employees of that restaurant or the family or just to everyday neighbors," Meng said, summarizing the statement.
Hirsch's attorney, Michael Horn, said he's happy with the outcome.
"I thought the judge made a nice compromise about public safety versus the rights of an individual not convicted of a crime. Our position is that he's not the guy who did this, that that person is still out there," Horn said.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said any violation of the terms or conditions could mean bail being revoked.
In her statement, the Queens DA said, "Bail is not, and never was, meant to be punitive. Rather, its purpose is to ensure the accused returns to court to answer the charges. The law gives the judge the discretion to set bail in an amount the judge believes is reasonably calculated to accomplish this purpose. In this case, although we asked the court to remand the defendant without bail, the court set bail in a very substantial amount while agreeing to impose conditions we requested, including house arrest and electronic monitoring. Even if the defendant were to make bail, any violation of the terms or conditions could result in bail being revoked."
