Homeless ex-con arrested for stabbing subway rider who complained about loud cell-phone use

A homeless man who spent 27 years in prison for attempted murder has been arrested for stabbing a Queens subway rider who complained the suspect was speaking on his cell phone too loudly, police said Wednesday.

Johnny Wood was nabbed Monday for the stabbing on an E train rumbling toward its last stop at the Jamaica Center-Parsons Archer subway station, cops said.

Wood, 50, was riding the train and was speaking to someone on his cell phone when his 54-year-old victim asked him to lower his voice around 11 a.m. Saturday, cops said.

Wood argued with the victim before allegedly punching him repeatedly in the face. He then pulled a knife from his hoodie pocket and jammed the blade into the other rider’s ribcage.

The attacker ran off the train when it entered the station, cops said. Medics took the victim to Jamaica Hospital, where he was treated for two fractured ribs and a stab wound to his chest. He’s expected to recover.

Cops recovered surveillance footage of Wood, who was later identified as the stabber by his parole officer, according to court documents. He was arrested in Fresh Meadows three days after the stabbing.

When shown images of the attack, Wood quickly identified himself as the stabber.

“That’s me,” he told detectives. “I had a knife for protection.”

Wood lives in a men’s shelter in downtown Brooklyn, according to cops. He was charged with attempted murder, assault and weapon possession.

A Queens Criminal Court judge ordered him held without bail when he was arraigned Tuesday.

According to court documents, a Brooklyn jury convicted Wood of attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment in April 1997. He was released on parole in November 2024 after serving 27 years in prison. Details of his crime were not immediately disclosed.

He was expected to remain on parole until February, officials said.

The arrest comes as the city has seen a slight decrease in assaults in the city’s subway system this year. As of Sunday, there have been 513 assaults reported on the rails this year, four fewer than by this time last year.