Photo Courtesy of Google
The attack occurred on a platform at the Jamaica LIRR station.
By Forum Staff
A Manhattan man has been sentenced to 18 years-to-life in prison for the July 2020 attack of a doctor on a Long Island Rail Road platform in Jamaica, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Saturday.
Kevin Carroll, 39, was found guilty of robbery in the second degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree, a hate crime, following a two-week-long jury trial. Queens Supreme Court
Justice John Zoll, who presided at trial, sentenced Carroll to a term of 18 years-to-life in prison as a persistent felony offender. Carroll’s criminal history includes a 2000 conviction for attempted robbery of a 15-year-old and a 2003 conviction for the attempted aggravated assault of a police officer who approached him as he panhandled in the subway. When the cop asked him for identification, Carroll body-slammed her onto the platform and tried to shove her onto the tracks as a train entered the station.
According to trial testimony, on July 22, 2020, at approximately 7:20 p.m., Carroll approached the victim, a 40-year-old doctor, who was standing on the platform of the LIRR Jamaica train station and asked him for a dollar. When the victim replied that he did not have a dollar, Carroll became angry and threw a water bottle at him before temporarily leaving the area. Moments later, Carroll returned telling the victim that he found a dollar and threw it at the victim. Carroll then launched a verbal harangue yelling homophobic slurs at the victim and then punched him in the face.
Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
“Hate has no place in Queens,” DA Katz said.
The victim fell to the train platform where he lost consciousness. Carroll took the victim’s cell phone and his gym bag and then fled the scene. Video surveillance at the station captured Carroll’s movements minutes before the attack as well as afterwards.
The victim suffered a permanent injury to one of his retinas due to the incident.
Carroll was arrested two days later on another matter and was identified by the arresting officer after viewing the surveillance video from the LIRR station.
“Our office successfully prosecuted the defendant after he targeted a man waiting for a train at the Long Island Railroad Jamaica train station in July 2020 and hurled homophobic insults and slurs and then robbed the victim,” Katz said. “Hate has no place in Queens.”
