{"id":180067,"date":"2026-03-30T20:39:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T20:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/180067\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T20:39:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T20:39:45","slug":"suspect-accused-of-killing-veteran-in-subway-shoving-incident-held-with-no-bail-on-murder-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/180067\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspect accused of killing veteran in subway shoving incident held with no bail on murder charge"},"content":{"rendered":"

The suspect accused of killing an elderly Air Force veteran<\/a> and wounding another man in a harrowing subway shoving incident pleaded not guilty to murder Monday, as the deceased victim\u2019s tearful granddaughter described her grief as \u201cimmeasurable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bairon Hernandez, 34, entered his plea before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber, having last appeared in court two weeks ago while Vietnam vet Richard Williams was still on life support<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Urging Farber to revoke the bail terms previously set for Hernandez and remand him for the Lenox Hill shoving incident, Assistant District Attorney Julie Noble said the suspect was accused of targeting an especially vulnerable New Yorker, \u201can 83-year-old man that was walking with a cane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defendant pushed him with such force \u2014 with both of his hands \u2014 that he flew onto the tracks and landed directly on his face,\u201d the prosecutor said, telling the court Williams\u2019 suffered a brain bleed and never woke up, dying after a nine-day battle on life support.<\/p>\n

\"RichardSubway shoving victim Richard Williams. (Courtesy of Family)<\/p>\n

Farber granted the prosecution\u2019s request for remand and scheduled Hernandez\u2019s next court date for July 22. The man\u2019s lawyer, Mitchell Schuman from New York County Defender Services, indicated he may propose a bail package at a future hearing.<\/p>\n

Hernandez is also facing assault and attempted-assault charges<\/a> for allegedly targeting another man during the March 8 incident on the downtown platform for the F and Q trains at the 63rd St.-Lexington Ave. subway station, 30-year-old Jhon Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege Hernandez went for Rodriguez first, using the force of his whole body to shove him on to the tracks. Rodriguez landed on his knees, injuring his shoulder, and was hoisting himself back up when Hernandez allegedly targeted Williams, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n

\"BaironBairon Hernandez appears at his arraignment in State Supreme court in Manhattan on Monday, March 30, 2026. Hernandez, charged with shoving two men onto subway tracks, is now charged with murder after one of the men died. (Steven Hirsch for NY Post\/POOL)<\/p>\n

Rodriguez and a fellow Good Samaritan managed to get Williams back onto the platform before a train rolled into the station, the Daily News previously reported.<\/p>\n

Hernandez faces up to 25 years if convicted of second-degree murder and could face an additional 15 years if convicted of the assault charges.<\/p>\n

Noble on Thursday said the incident was captured from several angles on CCTV and cellphone footage and that there were multiple eyewitnesses, describing the prosecution\u2019s case as \u201cvery strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

In arguing Hernandez posed a flight risk, Noble cited his two open warrants on narcotics allegations in New Jersey and previous conviction for reentering the country illegally. Hernandez, who is undocumented, immigrated to the U.S. from Honduras as a teen.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration sought to politicize the case<\/a> in the wake of the incident on account of Hernandez\u2019s immigration status, criticizing New York\u2019s sanctuary laws and calling on authorities to ensure his jailing when he was already on Rikers. If Hernandez is convicted, New York\u2019s sanctuary laws will not prevent federal immigration authorities from deporting him.<\/p>\n

Describing the incident as \u201can unprovoked heinous attack,\u201d Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg briefly addressed the case at an unrelated press conference later Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the victims, an 83-year-old Vietnam veteran, tragically died of a traumatic brain injury nine days later. The second victim injured his shoulder, but thankfully survived,\u201d Bragg said, declining to speak to the prosecution\u2019s theories about a motive. \u201cAn investigation has been ongoing since the incident occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JackieJackie Bilog, granddaughter of Richard Williams, leaves the arraignment of his suspected killer, Bairon Hernanadez, in State Supreme court in Manhattan on Monday, March 30, 2026. (Curtis Means for Daily Mail)<\/p>\n

Williams, who lived on Roosevelt Island, was in the city running errands when he was targeted. Following the brief court hearing Monday, his devastated granddaughter Jackie Bilog told reporters that his loved ones were still coming to terms with his harrowing final moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur family is devastated. He was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather and a kind and generous man whose life was centered around those he loved. The loss we feel is immeasurable, and the circumstances surrounding his passing have made this grief even more difficult to bear,\u201d Bilog said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that charges have been brought and we respect the legal process. At the same time, no legal proceeding can restore the life that was taken or the future that has been lost to our family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The suspect accused of killing an elderly Air Force veteran and wounding another man in a harrowing subway…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[266,85,267,75,84,83,9,24,264,12,63],"class_list":["post-180067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-county","tag-news","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}