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Grafton Thomas

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Hudson Valley Man Found Incompetent For Trial In Machete Murder, Attack, DA Says Hudson Valley Man Found Incompetent For Trial In Machete Murder, Attack, DA Says
Hudson Valley Man Found Incompetent For Trial In Machete Murder, Attack, DA Says A Hudson Valley man will spend at least another two years in a psychiatric facility after being found incompetent to stand trial for murder for a second time in the 2019 machete attack during a Hanukkah party. Grafton Thomas, age 35, of Orange County, is charged in Rockland County with the Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019 killing of Josef Neumann, age 72, after allegedly stabbing five people at the Hasidic rabbi’s Forshay Road, Monsey home during a Hanukkah celebration. Thomas, whose family said he had a long history of severe mental illness and suffered from schizophrenia, also faces six count…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Hanukkah Stabbing Victim Dies Three Months After Machete Attack Hanukkah Stabbing Victim Dies Three Months After Machete Attack
Hanukkah Stabbing Victim Dies Three Months After Machete Attack The man who has been struggling for life since a machete attack at a rabbi's home in the area this past December has died from his injuries. Rabbi Yisroel Kahan of Monsey said on Sunday, March 29, that the family had been holding out hope he would improve, but Josef Neuman, 72, died on Sunday. "With great sadness, we mourn the passing of Josef Neuman at the age of 72, who succumbed to injuries sustained during the #MonseyStabbing while celebrating Chanukah on December 28th," Kahan said on Twitter. "May his memory be a blessing." Neumann was one of five men attacked with a machete at the h…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Rockland DA Moves To Remove Monsey Machete Attacker's Attorney Rockland DA Moves To Remove Monsey Machete Attacker's Attorney
Rockland DA Moves To Remove Monsey Machete Attacker's Attorney Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh II has filed a motion to remove the attorney who is representing the man accused in the Monsey machete attack. Walsh filed the motion on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to remove Micheal Sussman, who's been representing Grafton Thomas, the man accused of federal hate crimes in the Monsey Hanukkah attack in December that left one man in a coma. In a statement, the district attorney said Sussman should be removed  "on the grounds that Mr. Sussman is now a civilian witness in this case by conducting a 'search' and removing 'evidence' (that goes to his…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Monsey Hanukkah Attack Suspect Incompetent To Stand Trial, Psychiatrist Says Monsey Hanukkah Attack Suspect Incompetent To Stand Trial, Psychiatrist Says
Monsey Hanukkah Attack Suspect Incompetent To Stand Trial, Psychiatrist Says A psychiatrist hired by to evaluate Grafton Thomas, the man charged in a machete attack at a rabbi's house, has found he is incompetent to stand trial, his defense attorney said. In a statement on Monday, Jan. 27, his attorney Michael Sussman said that Dr. Andrew Levin found that "Mr. Thomas was not competent to stand trial." Thomas, of Greenwood Lake in Orange County, is charged with federal hate crimes for the Dec. 28 attack on attendees of a Hanukkah party at the rabbi's Monsey home that left a 72-year-old man in a coma. Earlier Story: Monsey Stabbing Suspect Interviewed By Police…

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by Kathy Reakes
Politics
Cuomo Pledges $680K For License Plate Readers In Monsey, New Square Cuomo Pledges $680K For License Plate Readers In Monsey, New Square
Cuomo Pledges $680K For License Plate Readers In Monsey, New Square Just weeks following two hate-fueled attacks in New Square and Monsey, Gov. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced $680,000 in funding to help pay for license plate readers in Rockland County. The readers, one which was used to catch the man who attacked a group of Jewish worshipers on Dec. 28, will be used to enhance security and further protect Rockland communities, the governor said. The attacker used a machete to attack six people, leaving a 72-year-old man in a coma with a fractured skull. Grafton Thomas, 37, of Greenwood Lake, in Orange County, who has been charged with attempted murder in …

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Monsey Stabbing Suspect Interviewed By Police For Earlier Attack Just Days Before Incident Monsey Stabbing Suspect Interviewed By Police For Earlier Attack Just Days Before Incident
Monsey Stabbing Suspect Interviewed By Police For Earlier Attack Just Days Before Incident Police detectives had interviewed the alleged Monsey machete attacker before the Hanukkah attack in connection with an earlier stabbing in the area. According to Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel, detectives worked for hours and hours to identify a vehicle caught on a grainy video in the area of the Howard Drive attack on Wednesday, Nov. 20, when a father of four was stabbed multiple times as he walked to worship.  In addition to showing the video to area body shops, it was also reviewed with the FBI, who most said it appeared to be a Honda Pilot, but no one could absolutely confirm the …

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Condition Of Critically Injured Hanukkah Stabbing Victim 'Dire,' Family Says Condition Of Critically Injured Hanukkah Stabbing Victim 'Dire,' Family Says
Condition Of Critically Injured Hanukkah Stabbing Victim 'Dire,' Family Says The family of the Hanukkah stabbing attack in Rockland County who remains critically injured said his condition is dire and he may not regain consciousness. Josef Neumann, 71, remains hospitalized following the attack late Saturday night, Dec. 28 at the home of a rabbi at 47 Forshay Road in Monsey. Four others suffered non-critical injuries. "Our father Mr. Josef Neumann was severely stabbed multiple times during the mass attack Saturday night,” the statement said. “The knife penetrated his skull directly into the brain. He also suffered three cuts to the head, one cut to the neck, and his …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Trucks Of Armed Security Officers Now Patrol Rockland Synagogues After Hanukkah Attack Trucks Of Armed Security Officers Now Patrol Rockland Synagogues After Hanukkah Attack
Trucks Of Armed Security Officers Now Patrol Rockland Synagogues After Hanukkah Attack In the wake of a stabbing attack of five people celebrating Hannukah at a rabbi's home in Monsey, a high-profile security firm is providing extra security to the Hasidic Jewish community. During a press conference on Monday, Dec. 30, Rockland County Executive Ed Day announced that Brosan Security had offered to provide the coverage to fight what Day called "disturbing cancer taking place."  “We are fighting back as a community, as a county, we are fighting back,” Day said. According to Patrick Brosan, the CEO of the firm, the company will pay former FBI agents, state po…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Feds Charge Monsey Suspect With Hate Crimes As Family Cites History Of Mental Illness Feds Charge Monsey Suspect With Hate Crimes As Family Cites History Of Mental Illness
Feds Charge Monsey Suspect With Hate Crimes As Family Cites History Of Mental Illness Federal prosecutors have filed hate crimes charges against the man accused of allegedly stabbing five people at a Hasidic rabbi’s Monsey home during a Hanukkah celebration. The charges come after calls for action on hate crimes from state and federal officials, as well as the public and religious leaders. The criminal complaint, filed in the White Plains federal court, provides a glimpse into what may have motivated Grafton Thomas, 31, of Orange County, to carry out his bloody rampage on Saturday, Dec. 28. Thomas’s family said in a statement on Sunday, Dec. 29, that he had a long history o…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Authorities Investigating If Monsey Hanukkah Attack May Be Linked To Other Recent Hate Crimes Authorities Investigating If Monsey Hanukkah Attack May Be Linked To Other Recent Hate Crimes
Authorities Investigating If Monsey Hanukkah Attack May Be Linked To Other Recent Hate Crimes As bail was set at $5 million for the man accused of stabbing five people during a Hanukkah gathering at a rabbi's home in Rockland County, law enforcement officials are working to determine if the attack is linked to other recent hate crimes. Ramapo Police said Grafton Thomas, a 37-year-old from Greenwood Lake, in Orange County, has been charged with five counts of attempted murder, and one count of burglary.  Thomas is being held at the Rockland County Jail, for the brutal attack late Saturday night, Dec. 28, in Monsey, as investigators work to connect him to other unsolved hate crim…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Monsey Hannukah Knife Attack Suspect From Orange County, 37, Identified Monsey Hannukah Knife Attack Suspect From Orange County, 37, Identified
Monsey Hannukah Knife Attack Suspect From Orange County, 37, Identified The NYPD identified the man accused of attacking five people with a knife during a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi's home in Monsey late Saturday night as an Orange County resident. City police said they arrested Grafton Thomas, 37, of Greenwood Lake, after identifying the license plate on his Nissan Sentra as it crossed the George Washington Bridge around 11:45 p.m. Saturday. Officers David Radziwon and Giovanni Mattera stopped and arrested him on 144th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (7th Avenue) in Harlem a short time later and held him for Ramapo police. Grafton was being char…

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by Jerry DeMarco