BROOKLYN — A 72-year-old man has been indicted on charges of menacing as a hate crime, criminal possession of a weapon, and other offenses for allegedly shouting homophobic slurs at a passenger on the A train and following him after he got off at the Nostrand Avenue station.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “In Brooklyn, everyone regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or religion must be free to walk the streets and ride the subways without fear for their safety. Brooklyn’s beauty and strength lies in its diversity and we will not tolerate hate crimes of any kind.”
Arnold Moody, 72, of Flatbush, Brooklyn was arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with second-degree menacing as a hate crime, third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree aggravated harassment and related charges. He faces up to two to seven years in prison if convicted of the top count.
According to the investigation, on August 9, 2017, at approximately 8:50 a.m., the victim boarded a Manhattan-bound A train at the Broadway Junction subway station in East New York, Brooklyn, when the defendant began verbally harassing and threatening the victim, using homophobic slurs, stating, in sum and substance “You’re a [expletive deleted], why are you standing like that? I’m going to cut you.”
The defendant continued to hurl verbal insults at the victim, and when the train pulled into the Nostrand Avenue subway station, the defendant allegedly followed the victim out onto the subway platform while brandishing a knife. However, several plainclothes police officers on the subway platform saw the defendant with the knife and quickly apprehended the defendant.
