SUV Gang Assault (VIDEO): Fourth Biker Arraigned, Lawyer Says Charges Are Overblown
The SUV gang assault that took place in New York last week has led to the arrest of a fourth biker, who was arraigned Sunday on gang assault and other major charges. The man is the motorcyclist accused of smashing the SUV's window with his helmet that led to the driver being dragged out and severely beaten by the bikers. The suspect's lawyer has said that the charges against his client were overblown.
Reginald Chance, 37, is being held on $75,000 cash bail, with prosecutors saying that the man played a pivotal role in the incident in which the driver of an SUV was badly beaten and hospitalized in front of his wife and two year old child.
Prior to the beating, dozens of bikers had surrounded the SUV as it drove along a New York road, with one biker slowing down suddenly to make the SUV rear-end him. As the dozens of bikers began swarming around the SUV, the driver panicked, fearing for the safety of his family and suddenly drove off hitting a number of bikers, with one now paralyzed as a result.
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Chance admits that he is the man who smashed the window of the SUV with his helmet, but claims that he didn't hit or kick the driver, and that the beating was carried out by others.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Samantha Turino, however, has said that Chance's role in the incident was pivotal and that he should face consequences as he "set into motion a chain of events that resulted in the driver being dragged out of his vehicle and beaten."
Chance's lawyer, Gregory Watts, has said that video footage of the incident shows that Chance got on his motorcycle after breaking the window and left the scene without taking part in the beating of SUV driver Alexian Lien.
"This is not a man riding around assaulting people with a quote-unquote 'gang,'" Watts said. "We will hotly contest those allegations."
