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Moses Brooks, age 50, of Wyandanch, was indicted on nearly two dozen criminal counts in Nassau County Court on Friday, Nov. 22.
According to the charges, Brooks was attending a crowded basement house party on Linden Place in Hempstead in the early hours of Sunday, Oct. 6, when he exposed himself to a 26-year-old woman.
When she walked away, Brooks followed her and rubbed his penis against her arm, prosecutors said. The victim told her friends what happened and they removed Brooks from the house.
Outside, Brooks and several other partygoers got into an argument, during which he pulled out a knife and began to indiscriminately attack individuals gathered in the front yard, slashing and stabbing a total of eight people, according to investigators.
Five partygoers suffered extensive lacerations and were taken to Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre for medical treatment. One victim had her radial artery severed on her arm, requiring emergency life-saving surgery. Because of the injury, she lost mobility in her hand.
Another victim’s tendons and ligaments were slashed, causing permanent injury and the loss of mobility in their hand.
Two additional victims suffered stab wounds on the left side of their neck, narrowly missing their carotid artery and jugular, respectively. Another victim’s leg was slashed near the femoral artery and the woman had trouble standing for a month.
Following the attack, Brooks fled the scene. He was arrested two weeks later, on Saturday, Oct. 19, when he landed at LaGuardia Airport from a trip to Florida.
He later attempted to bribe several victims with cash in hopes of preventing their cooperation with police, according to prosecutors.
“Five of those victims cooperating with NCDA’s prosecution suffered extensive injuries that required emergency life-saving medical intervention, including severed arteries and significant blood loss,” said DA Anne Donnelly. “This kind of random, brutal violence will not go unchecked in Nassau County.”
In court Friday, Brooks was indicted on the following counts:
- Five counts of attempted murder in the second degree (felony)
- 10 counts of assault (felony)
- Reckless endangerment (felony)
- Two counts of criminal possession of a weapon (felony and misdemeanor)
- Public lewdness (misdemeanor)
- Sexual abuse (misdemeanor)
- Criminal solicitation (misdemeanor)
- Attempting to bribe a witness (felony)
- Tampering with a witness (misdemeanor)
He pleaded not guilty and was jailed on a $1 million bond. If convicted, Brooks faces up to 25 years to life in prison on each of the top counts.
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