Cops arrested the second suspect Tuesday in the beatdown of an on-duty woman MTA employee at a Brooklyn subway station earlier this month, cops said.
Leschea Aldridge, 25 was charged with attempted assault, assault, theft of services, endangering the welfare of a child, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon for the July 1 attack. Aldridge and Ayizhae Thomas, 24 allegedly teamed up to attack Marshalee Reid, 51, who was assaulted around 1:15 p.m. inside the New Lots No. 3 train subway station in East New York, police and the Transport Workers Union said.
Thomas was arrested on July 15 and was charged with assault, acting in a manner injurious to a child, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.
Prosecutors requested bail for Thomas but she was instead granted supervised release at her arraignment at Brooklyn criminal court.
Reid was assisting an elderly man having problems at a MetroCard vending machine when she wound up confronting Thomas and Aldridge, cops said.
Reid opened the emergency exit door so the elderly man could pass through. She then noticed Thomas jump the turnstile, and told her to come back through the open door and pay her fare. Aldridge reportedly then asked Reid if she could also come in through the open door, like the man did. Reid told her she also had to pay the fare, according to the TWU and court documents.
One of the two women then pushed the MTA worker to the floor, where she was repeatedly punched and kicked. Thomas hit Reid with a closed fist with keys in her hand, striking her multiple times, according to law enforcement. Thomas’ 2-year-old son was next to her during the altercation, according to court documents.
EMS transported Reid to Brookdale Hospital, where she was in stable condition, having suffered minor cuts. She also suffered a swollen hand requiring X-rays, the TWU said.
Thomas and Aldridge fled on foot after the incident.
NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, in a statement, called for “maximum justice” to be meted out against the MTA worker’s assailants in what he slammed as a “senseless attack on a station agent.”
After Thomas’ arrest, he urged, “It’s up to courts to deliver maximum justice. We will be watching closely.”
Aldridge’s arraignment at Brooklyn criminal court was pending Tuesday afternoon.
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