The-Ave.US

A 28-year-old homeless man has been indicted in New York City for physically assaulting 7 Asian women in 3 hours.

His M.O. was to approach the women from behind, strike them in the face with a closed fist or elbow, then flee the scene, according to police.

He’s Steven Zajonc, and here’s his rap sheet, courtesy of a website here:

1. He is Denise Zajonc‘s son.
2. He has lived in different parts of New York including Staten Island.
3. He previously lived in Sarasota, Florida, USA and in Fort Riley, Kansas, USA.
4. Between February 2015 and March 2016, he served in the U.S. Army as a private. He was stationed at Fort Riley and was never deployed.
5. When the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started in 2020, he was homeless on Oahu in Hawaii, USA.
6. In April 2020, he was ticketed for trespassing after sleeping in a home under construction in Hawaii.
7. In September 2020, he was spraying Glade in the bathroom of a park. He was cited for not wearing a mask.
8. In October 2020, his mother sought an injunction for protection against him and cited domestic violence.
9. In May 2021, the Honolulu Police Department arrested him and charged him with harassment and disobeying an officer. He pleaded no contest to the charges. He was released after he was given credit for serving two days in the department’s cellblock.
10. Between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on February 27, 2022, he allegedly attacked an Asian woman, then 57, near Madison Avenue and East 30th Street in New York City, an Asian woman, then 25, near Fifth Avenue and East 30th Street in New York City, an Asian woman, then 21, near Park Avenue South and East 23rd Street in New York City, an Asian woman, then 25, in the Union Square area near Irving Place and East 17th Street in New York City, an Asian woman, then 19, in the vicinity of Union Square East and East 17th Street an Asian woman, 25, and an Asian woman, 20, in the Lower East Side in New York City.
11. He was 28 years old when he was accused of attacking seven Asian women on February 27, 2022 from Midtown Manhattan to the Nolita neighborhood in New York City. On March 1, 2022, police released a video footage of him wearing a multicolored backpack, a light blue T-shirt, dark-colored pants and dark-colored shoes.
12. He was living in a homeless shelter in Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City when he was arrested on the evening of March 2, 2022. He was charged with attempted assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment, harassment and seven counts each of assault.
13. On April 4, 2022, he was indicted on felony and misdemeanor hate crimes charges.

Sounds like he has issues.

We need prisons for people like this, and before anyone speaks of “defunding the police,” they should consider it’s the police we depend on to identify such perpetrators, find them, and get them off the streets. American policing has issues, too, but the solution is better police, not fewer police.

Read story here and here.

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