By Patrick Markey
Two Irish men were mugged and assaulted by a gang of youths as they made their way home to Queens in the early hours of Sunday morning, police officials said.
Police arrested five youths, three of whom were homeless, and one of the victims was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital, according to Officer Leslie Cardona, a Police Department spokeswoman.
The two victims, Cormac Breheny, 23, from Dublin, and Keith Houston, from Donegal, were on their way back to Queens from a Manhattan nightclub at around 5:40 a.m. Sunday when they were attacked by a group of men, according to police and a criminal complaint filed with the Queens District Attorney’s office.
When the two men got off the subway at 69th Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Queens, the gang set upon Houston and Breheny, chased them and cornered Houston against a wall, according to the complaint.
As Houston was being robbed of his wallet, four of the suspects assaulted Breheny, kicking him to the ground before fleeing, the complaint states. Breheny was later taken to St. John’s Hospital, where he was treated for lacerations to the forehead and received three stitches, Officer Cardona said.
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“Basically they beat me up for no reason. I had credit cards, bank cards and a beeper, but I don’t understand why they didn’t take anything,” Breheny said by telephone from his home in Middle Village, Queens.
After a canvass of the area, police arrested five males suspected of attacking to the victims: Daniel Grissom, 19, Shreick Hoffman, 19, Malik Felder, 18, Rajh’ Williams, 18 and Juan Marte, 20. They are expected to be charged with robbery in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property, assault and harassment.
Although the Queens DA’s office has not filed any charges relating to alleged racial remarks made by the suspects, Breheny’s attorney, Mason-Blake Pimsler, said he intends to press for discrimination charges to be filed.
Several of the suspects used racial terms during the attack, terms the two Irishmen did not understand, Pimsler said. Both of the victims are white and the five suspects are black.
Breheny had been studying in the University of Delaware and is working on an internship in a Wall Street firm until September. Houston is on a J1 visa working in the United States for the summer, Breheny said.