BROOKLYN, NY — Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the sentencing of Sean Lewis, 34, of Crown Heights, to seven years in prison for a violent attack on a subway rider who attempted to intervene in a fight. The incident occurred on a southbound C train on May 10, 2023.
Lewis pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted assault on June 11, 2024, and was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jane Tully. He will also undergo five years of post-release supervision.
The altercation began when Lewis was involved in a fight with another man on the train. The 44-year-old victim, attempting to break up the fight, was viciously attacked by Lewis, who thanked the victim before slashing him in the face with a sharp object. The attack, which took place as the train approached the Franklin Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, left the victim with a severe eight-inch wound, requiring approximately 100 stitches at Kings County Hospital.
Captured on surveillance footage, Lewis was arrested a week later on May 18, 2023. This case, prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Steven Bravo of the District Attorney’s Blue Zone Trial Bureau, highlights the severe consequences of violence within the subway system. District Attorney Gonzalez emphasized that such unprovoked and heinous acts, especially against individuals acting in good faith, will not be tolerated.