By Forum Staff
A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for viciously biting off the top of his girlfriend’s cousin’s ear when he tried to stop the man from going after the girlfriend and her mother inside their South Ozone Park apartment in October 2014, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
In April, a jury found Reynoldo Rayside, 28, guilty of first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child following a two-week long trial. He was sentenced last week to 25 years in prison to be followed by five years’ post release supervision.
According to trial testimony, on Oct. 2, 2014, Anthryani Mitchell’s 15-year-old cousin, who lives next door, heard a commotion and entered her South Ozone Park apartment. The teen saw Mitchell’s mother, Norma Mitchell, bleeding and injured on the floor and his cousin lying on the floor a short distance away in the kitchen with Rayside hovering over her. The 15-year-old rushed into the kitchen and put himself between his cousin and Rayside.
Brown said that the cousin managed to get Anthryani away from Rayside, but Rayside’s rage turned to him. Rayside grabbed the cousin and bit into the boy’s ear and then ripped the top of his ear completely off. The victim was left with permanent and disfiguring scars as a result of this attack, Brown noted.
“The young victim in this case was savagely assaulted when he came to the aid of his female cousin and her mother during an altercation between the women and the defendant,” Brown added. “Violence has no place in a civilized society. This defendant was convicted at trial and a judge has now sentenced him to a lengthy term of imprisonment.”
