A New York City man accused of throwing scalding hot water on four people during a random attack spree in Midtown Manhattan in early March shocked court members by putting on a Cheshire cat grin as a judge ordered him held without bail on various assault charges.
Larry Martin, 42, dressed in an orange inmate jumpsuit, made his first appearance March 28, and smiled gleefully at photographers during his arraignment before Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Curtis J. Farber, who denied bail.
Unbothered, Martin maintained the smiling expression throughout the entire proceeding, and even appeared to laugh as he was led out in handcuffs.
Martin did not appear to have an attorney at the hearing and he did not appear to enter a plea.
It was not clear if Martin intended his unsettling smile as a protest but the case against him was no laughing matter.
His arrogant manner in the courtroom contradicted the serious nature of the charges, including four counts each of second-degree assault and first-degree attempted assault in connection with the frightening series of unprovoked attacks during the March 6 morning commute.
The randomness of the attacks terrified New Yorkers amid a surge in violence across Long Island in recent weeks, including the fatal shooting of a police officer, a deadly episode of gunfire on an A-train in Brooklyn, and the tragic death of a man who was pushed in front of an oncoming subway train in Harlem.
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The attacks in which Martin is accused fueled increasing fear and panic, while highlighting the escalating chaos throughout the city over the course of a month.
The first of the four attacks was reported at 7:10 a.m. when a man was severely burned at East 44th Street and Lexington Avenue, where a suspect splashed hot water on the victim’s head and neck, court documents say.
Half an hour…
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