A Bronx man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a violent assault on a 67-year-old man who tried to protect a woman from being harassed in East New York, Brooklyn, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Ryan Lawrence, 30, was convicted of second-degree assault following a jury trial on April 2. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Adam Perlmutter handed down the sentence after finding that Lawrence repeatedly and brutally attacked the elderly victim during an early morning incident on July 22, 2023.
“This was a vicious and senseless assault on a senior citizen who stepped in to defend a woman in need,” District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “The defendant had multiple opportunities to walk away, but instead chose to return again and again to inflict serious, lasting injuries.”
The incident occurred around 4 a.m. when Lawrence approached a homeless woman sleeping outside a building on Liberty Avenue while holding a weapon. After the woman pushed him away, he left briefly before returning and again advancing toward her. A 67-year-old man observing the situation from his apartment went outside to intervene.
When the elderly man confronted Lawrence and threw a single punch that missed, Lawrence retaliated by punching the man in the face and knocking him to the ground. What followed was a prolonged and violent beating.
Victim sustained traumatic brain injury and permanent vision loss
According to court evidence, Lawrence grabbed the victim’s shirt and threw him down again, delivering at least 11 punches to his face, eight kicks, and multiple stomps to his head. Despite bystanders’ attempts to stop the assault, Lawrence repeatedly returned to continue the attack.
The victim was left with serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, multiple facial fractures, and permanent loss of vision in one eye. He later underwent extensive facial reconstructive surgery.
Lawrence was arrested shortly after the attack and has remained in custody since. Prosecutors emphasized the repeated nature of the violence and its severe consequences for the victim in seeking the seven-year sentence.