(JTA) — Police arrested a man accused of attacking an identifiably Jewish man who was walking home from Shabbat services in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.
James Vincent, 40, was arrested on Friday morning after he appeared in Brooklyn Criminal Court on an unrelated case, the New York Daily News reported.
He was charged with strangulation, assault and unlawful possession of marijuana in the April 21 attack on Menachem Moskowitz in Crown Heights.
Moskowitz, a 52-year-old father of 9, was walking home from prayer services at about 1:30 on Saturday afternoon. He told the CrownHights.info news website following the attack that he said “good afternoon” to the man who was smoking a cigar on a street corner.
“As soon as [I greeted] him he began yelling at me ‘you fake Jews, who are you saying hello to? Your fake Jews and you stole all my money and robbed me, and stole my mortgage and my house. I want to kill you!’” the news website quoted him as saying.
Moskowitz said he walked away from the man quickly but that the assailant caught up with the Jewish man and put him in a chokehold and threatened to kill him. Two women passersby separated the men and called on Moskowitz to run away.
Moskowitz had several rib fractures and a black right eye from the attack. He also had swelling, bruises and scratching all over his body.
It was the second attack in the same area in two weeks. James has not been identified as a suspect in the other attack.
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