The hits just keep coming.<\/p>\n
A madman\u2019s five-minute reign of terror in lower Manhattan was just the warmup act for a revolving-door justice system that let him right back out to strike again, a terrified victim told The Post.<\/p>\n
The scrambled stranger punched a 28-year-old woman on Fulton Street near Water Street in lower Manhattan last month, then attacked two other women within five minutes before he was arrested, released and then allegedly went on to sock an 85-year-old man in the face the next day, the first victim told The Post.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
NYPD officers arrest Christopher Tarrant, 24, for assault in lower Manhattan in September. Obtained by the New York Post<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the most insane story ever,\u201d said the woman, who works in finance and asked to remain anonymous out of fear for her safety. \u201cI\u2019m walking and I\u2019m on my phone and then all of a sudden I hear this guy shout \u2018Watch out!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked up in time to see the gaunt-looking, bald repeat-offender \u2014 later identified as Christopher Tarrant \u2014 about to punch her<\/a> in the face. She dodged his fist, but it landed like a ton of bricks on her shoulder instead.<\/p>\n She called cops while following Tarrant, and allegedly saw him throw a glass bottle at an older woman and then punch another woman walking near the South Street Seaport, she said.<\/p>\n Police arrested Tarrant, but to her shock, the 24-year-old was charged only with misdemeanor assault<\/a> for allegedly slugging her, she said. The two other women didn\u2019t stick around to file complaints, but she gave police the phone number of the other woman he struck. <\/p>\n Police officers can\u2019t take a crime complaint without a victim, an NYPD spokesman said.<\/p>\n Prosecutors said he assaulted a woman and then an 85-year-old man when he was reased without bail. Obtained by the New York Post<\/p>\n A Manhattan judge released Tarrant the next day because the misdemeanor charge wasn\u2019t bail eligible under woke, Democrat-pushed 2019 reform laws, court records show.<\/p>\n A day later, he found another random victim in Hell\u2019s Kitchen and allegedly kicked the elderly man in the legs until he fell, then punched him twice in the face, according to the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office. This time, Tarrant was hit with a felony assault charge because his victim was over 65.<\/p>\n Prosecutors sought $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond, but New York City Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny freed him on supervised release. <\/p>\n A street sign marks the intersection of Water and Fulton streets at the South Street Seaport. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n The liberal jurist appointed by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio<\/a> in 2019 has been soft on crime in the past. <\/p>\n Last year, the judge freed the dapper \u201cBurberry Bandit\u201d Cornell Neilly <\/a>despite 34 prior arrests for bank robbery and the fact that he was on parole when he allegedly robbed five banks between Aug. 16 and Sept. 13 from Greenwich Village to Central Park South, records show.\u00a0<\/p>\n Neilly<\/a>, 35, was let go on supervised release by Gershuny<\/a>, who ignored prosecutors\u2019 request for $50,000 cash bail or $150,000 bond. <\/p>\n The 28-year-old victim said she was punched in the shoulder by a man who then attacked two other women within five minutes. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n