Security camera captures an attack outside a Bronx restaurant that left the victim with fractured skull, cops said. (New York Daily News Handout)
Freedom was fleeting for a Bronx man who was freed without bail after being accused in the near-fatal one-punch knockout of a total stranger who ended up in a coma.
Outrage over the case led Gov. Hochul to step in Friday, and Bui Van Phu ended up under arrest on a state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision warrant for violating the terms of his parole on a sex charge.
Van Phu, 55, was sent to Rikers Island pending a hearing in a Bronx courtroom on his case. His arrest came after a meeting with his parole officer, authorities said.
Bui Van Phu (New York Sex Offender Registry)
The arrest was a relief to the family of victim Jose Cortes, 55, who remained unconscious in critical condition Friday at Jacobi Medical Center.
The news came just before family members rushed to the hospital after learning the still-unconscious victim was diagnosed with an infection.
“We are glad that he’s back in jail. A person like that can’t be outside ... A person like that on the street could do damage to anyone,” said a niece, Anel Cortez, 29, who hailed Hochul’s intervention in the case.
“How he got arrested and then released — I felt the judge didn’t really look into his case,” Cortez told the Daily News.
Bui Van Phu is in state parole custody after the Bronx District Attorney's Office released him on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Van Phu was charged with the near fatal assault of man outside a Bronx restaurant. (NYPD)
Hochul said her office contacted the Bronx District Attorney after Van Phu, 55, was turned loose Thursday despite an initial felony charge of attempted murder from the NYPD and the suspect’s status of lifetime parole for a 1995 Bronx sexual assault for which he served six years.
“This was a horrific situation on all fronts,” Hochul said, noting Van Phu was taken in custody for violating his parole.
“I took action into my own hands,” the governor said. “I directed the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to immediately examine whether or not this parole violation occurred.
“Yes it did, you can tell it occurred ... as of minutes ago that person is now in custody at my direction.”
Front page for Aug. 19, 2022: Puncher suckers system- 'I'm in shock,' victim's kin tells The News after suspect in vicious attack is freed without bail. (New York Daily News)
Before he was taken into custody, Van Phu remained out on the streets pending a Sept. 6 court date. After his arrest, the suspect was held at Rikers Island’s Eric M. Taylor Center.
It remained unclear why Van Phu’s parole was not immediately revoked after his release on misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment, crimes that are not eligible for bail under state law.
The effort to imprison the suspect apparently began Thursday night, when state corrections officials released a statement that they were “actively investigating the incident” with the case’s NYPD detective and a Bronx assistant district attorney.
The Bronx DA’s office issued a Friday statement that prosecutors were continuing to investigate the charges against Van Phu, with an eye on upgrading the cases to felonies.
“As the investigation continues, it will be determined if elevated charges will be brought against the defendant,” said the statement from District Attorney Darcel Clark.
Van Phu was arrested for the savage attack on Cortes, 55, as the victim left a Bronx restaurant after dinner with relatives on Aug. 12, authorities said.
Cortes, a Mexican immigrant who came to the city 28 years ago, was exiting the Fuego Tipico restaurant on E. 188th St. near the Grand Concourse when Van Phu allegedly put on a pair of work gloves before delivering a devastating right-hand roundhouse to the victim’s head.
There was no indication the two had ever crossed paths and no motive given for the unprovoked attack.
Cortes lives near the Fuego Tipico restaurant with his brother and mother. His family was told to expect a long recovery ahead given the severity of his injuries.
Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News
Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News