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EMT Attacker Skates Out of Jail Term

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Plea Bargain Avoids Jail, Gets "Slap on Wrist"

MICHAEL JACCARINO, THE BOOZY BROOKLYN PROSECUTOR who nearly killed an FDNY EMT last November was sentenced to 10 grueling days of community service yesterday (Wednesday) after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor reckless assault charge for assaulting EMT Theresa Soler in the back of an ambulance while she was attempting to treat him.  At a pre-settled plea bargaining agreement, the sentencing hearing yesterday was perfunctory as the judge ordered Jaccarino to perform the community service, complete an alcohol program and submit a dna sample.

Michael Jaccarino at Wednesday's hearing
(New York Times / Watts photo)

Jaccarino, 30, gained notoriety in the fire/ems community after he was found wandering drunk and in a stuporous condition on the Brooklyn Bridge.  Firegeezer reported at the time:

The ambulance had been dispatched around 1 am for a "highly-intoxicated man" on the Brooklyn Bridge. The ambulance crew found Jaccarino weaving along the pedestrian walkway near the Manhattan side and stopped to talk to him. After getting his agreement to transport him to the hospital for care, they put him in the back of the ambulance where the EMT Teresa Charry-Soler, 46, secured him to the bench seat with the safety belt. The New York Times continues:

As the ambulance was taking Mr. Jaccarino to Beth Israel Medical Center, the police said, he began unstrapping a belt that secured him inside the vehicle. When an emergency medical technician tried to restrain him, a police spokesman said, he struck her "in the right side of the face." A moment later, the police spokesman added, "he holds her down by choking her."

The technician suffered bruises to her right cheek, right wrist and chest, the police said.

Mr. Jaccarino, 30, was charged with assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, menacing and harassment.

Read the entire Firegeezer report HERE.

EMT Soler suffered serious injury to her throat and at the time of the attack she genuinely thought she was going to be killed.  At yesterday's hearing an assistant district attorney explained the plea bargain to the judge.  The New York Times relates the exchange:

Mr. Jaccarino was initially charged with second-degree assault, a felony, but the assistant district attorney, Sherita Walton, told a judge in Manhattan Criminal Court that her office had decided to charge Mr. Jaccarino with reckless assault, a misdemeanor and allow him to resolve the case by pleading guilty to that charge rather than to a felony.

Mr. Jaccarino was so drunk, Ms. Walton told Judge Melissa A. Crane, that it would have been difficult to prove that he meant to assault Ms. Soler. She added that if Mr. Jaccarino’s "intoxication was of such an extent and nature to render him incapable of forming the particular criminal intent, then he would not be criminally responsible for committing this crime."

Jaccarino was immediately suspended without pay after his arrest and following yesterday's sentencing the D. A.'s office announced that he would be dismissed from his job.

WCBS-TV filed this video report from the courthouse:

 

Recommended reading:
New York Times
NY Daily News

Read earlier reports from Firegeezer HERE and HERE.

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Posted by on February 14, 2013 • Filed under: current events, EMS Topics, Law & Justice, News • Tagged:

Angry Medics Flock to Court Hearing for Attacker

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Is the District Attorney Protecting a Colleague?

MORE THAN TWO DOZEN angry New York City medics crowded into a tiny courtroom Tuesday when the man accused of viciously attacking one of their co-workers was arraigned.  The accused is a city assistant district attorney, Michael Jaccarino, 30.

The incident took place back in November and was covered by Firegeezer HERE, when Jaccarino who was excessively drunk, was picked up by an FDNY ambulance and during transport he violently attacked the female medic in the back of the ambulance, severely injuring her.  (Read the earlier report for the details of the attack.)

Jaccarino during November arrest
(NY Post / Farrington)

The New York Post reported on yesterday's hearing:

Some two dozen angry, uniformed emergency workers came to Manhattan Criminal Court this morning to support a female fellow worker who'd been repeatedly choked in an ambulance — allegedly by a drunken Brooklyn assistant district attorney.  The EMT workers — and the victim herself — said they were furious that Manhattan prosecutors have yet to seek a felony indictment against Michael Jaccarino, 30, who came to court today to learn his next court date, March 18.

"They told me basically that they can't prove intent because he was drunk," victim EMT Teresa Soler, 46, of Yonkers, told The Post after a sharply-suited Jaccarino left court without commenting to reporters.  "They say he can argue that he was so drunk, he didn't know what he was doing," she said. "I don't know what was on his mind, but when he was in the ambulance with me he flashed his ADA [Assistant District Attorney] badge," she said.

"In my opinion that means he knew what he was doing — and thought he was going to get a free pass."

DNAinfo reports that the victim, Soler said that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office told her that the felony charges against Jaccarino, 30, would likely not go before a grand jury because prosecutors did not believe that Jaccarino intended to harm her. (Read our report form November and judge for yourself.)

Jaccarino has been suspended from his job, but it hasn't been disclosed whether he continues to get paid or not.

DNAinfo has a good report on yesterday's activities and more background HERE.
Read the full article in yesterday's Post HERE.

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Posted by on January 9, 2013 • Filed under: current events, EMS Topics, Law & Justice • Tagged:

Boozey Brooklyn Prosecutor Jailed After Assaulting EMT

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Sent to Jail, Directly to Jail Without Passing GO

MICHAEL JACCARINO, 30, IS AN assistant district attorney in the Brooklyn DA's office, but his career is on hold today following his arrest Saturday morning for assaulting a city EMT.

NY Post / Farrington

The ambulance had been dispatched around 1 am for a "highly-intoxicated man" on the Brooklyn Bridge.  The ambulance crew found Jaccarino weaving along the pedestrian walkway near the Manhattan side and stopped to talk to him.  After getting his agreement to transport him to the hospital for care, they put him in the back of the ambulance where the EMT Teresa Charry-Soler, 46, secured him to the bench seat with the safety belt.  The New York Times continues:

As the ambulance was taking Mr. Jaccarino to Beth Israel Medical Center, the police said, he began unstrapping a belt that secured him inside the vehicle. When an emergency medical technician tried to restrain him, a police spokesman said, he struck her "in the right side of the face." A moment later, the police spokesman added, "he holds her down by choking her."

The technician suffered bruises to her right cheek, right wrist and chest, the police said.

Mr. Jaccarino, 30, was charged with assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, menacing and harassment.

Jaccarino has been suspended from his job in the DA's office pending the outcome of the investigation into the attack.  The Brooklyn DA and Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano have been pushing to make assaults against all uniformed workers, including EMS, a felony.  If Jaccarino is convicted he will lose not only his job, but his license to practice law as well.

The New York Post adds:

Charry-Soler was treated at Beth Israel Hospital for a black eye and bruises on her neck and chest, said Israel Miranda, president of the EMTs union.

"She couldn’t pass air and thought she was going to die," Miranda said. "She’s very distraught. She did nothing to excite such a reaction."

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Posted by on November 11, 2012 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics • Tagged: , ,