© Erik McGregor
NYC: Juneteenth rally at Rikers Island
NEW YORK (77WABC) — The New York Post has learned an attempted murder suspect accused in an Upper West Side shooting was sprung from Rikers Island – thanks to “sympathetic” prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office who helped get his bond lowered.
20-year-old Darius Mungin had been locked up at the chaotic jail complex since October on charges he shot two people, including an 81-year-old apparent innocent bystander. Mungin was cut loose earlier this month after prosecutors agreed to lower his bond from $500,000 to $100,000 — citing concerns for his safety following two gang assaults.
Mungin’s lawyer Brian Kennedy had been petitioning the court to get Mungin released from Rikers after he was brutally beaten by gang members and stabbed, arguing that the Department of Correction had failed to keep him safe. The DA’s office said it agreed to the lower bond package because Mungin had a unique security risk and defended the amount as enough to ensure his return to court.
“The DA’s office seemed very sympathetic to Mungin’s situation and recognized the abuse and chaos he was suffering at Rikers,” Kennedy told the Post, adding that his client is “ecstatic” to be out of jail.
