Grand jury refuses to indict man in fatal subway stabbing

A grand jury voted not to indict a man who stabbed a passenger on a Brooklyn subway this month, ending the case, the man’s attorney said.

The man, Jordan Williams, 20, of Queens, stabbed Devictor Ouedraogo, 36, on a northbound J train on June 13, police said. Officers found Mr. Ouedraogo, a Brooklyn resident, on the platform of Williamsburg’s Marcy Avenue station at about 8 p.m. with a stab wound to the chest. He was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he died.

Mr. Williams was arrested and charged with manslaughter and criminal possession of weapons the following day.

Williams’ attorney, Jason Goldman, said the grand jury declined to bring an indictment.

“This was a tragic encounter that we can only hope doesn’t become the norm,” Mr Goldman said. “Jordan and his loved ones are grateful and relieved that the grand jury saw this for what it was.”

Oren Yaniv, a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, which filed the suit, said: “Our office has conducted an impartial and thorough investigation into this tragic case, including reviewing multiple videos and interviews with all available witnesses. . presented fairly to a grand jury.

He added: “Under New York law, a person has the right to use deadly physical force when he reasonably believes it is necessary to use such force to defend himself or others against threatened use of deadly or unlawful physical force. violence.”

For Mr. Ouedraogo’s family, the decision was difficult to understand.

“I think this dismissal is just wrong,” said Marina Ouedraogo, Mr. Ouedraogo’s younger sister. “It sends a signal that basically any of us can carry a gun. That’s basically what we’re saying here.”

According to police sources, Mr. Ouedraogo got into a dispute with passengers on the train before the meeting, including Mr. Williams. Witnesses said Mr. Ouedraogo struck the first blow, a police source said.

Since the murder, Mr. Williams has spoken about the episode at job interviewsadvocating self-defense. A GoFundMe for his legal defense had raised more than $120,000 by Wednesday afternoon.

“Everything that was already there made my brother look bad,” Ms. Ouedraogo said. “But guess what: he’s the person who’s dead. He’s not here anymore.”

Mr. Ouedraogo, who immigrated to the United States from Burkina Faso at a young age, had worked to send money to relatives in his home country, she said.

Mr Ouedraogo’s murder was at least the fifth in the city’s metro system this year. It came about six weeks after the fatal asphyxiation of Jordan Neely, a former street performer who was homeless, on an F train, and once again drew attention to the issue of underground safety.

While the likelihood of becoming a victim of a crime on the subway is statistically low, New Yorkers have been rocked by incidents of violence in recent years as the system struggles to return to prepandemic levels of ridership.

In recent months, subway officers have detained significantly more people for breaking the law. Police statistics show that there were approx 4,000 arrests in transit from January through April of this year, compared to nearly 3,000 arrests during the same period in 2022.