A Wyandanch man has been indicted for stabbing five people at a house party in Hempstead.
On October 6, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Moses Brooks was at a crowded basement house party on Linden Place in Hempstead. During the party, he allegedly exposed himself to a 26-year-old partygoer. When the woman walked away, he allegedly followed her and rubbed his penis against the victim’s arm. Afraid after the alleged incident, the victim told friends of the encounter and they removed Brooks from the residence.
Outside of the home, Brooks and several other partygoers became involved in a verbal argument. Brooks then allegedly pulled out a knife and began indiscriminately slashing and stabbing at individuals congregated in the front yard of the home. Five partygoers suffered extensive lacerations and injuries and were each privately taken to Mercy Hospital for treatment.
One victim’s radial artery was severed when her arm was slashed and required emergency life-saving surgery. Because of the injury, she lost mobility in her hand. Another victim’s tendons and ligaments were slashed, which caused permanent injury and the loss of mobility in the victim’s hand. Two additional victims were both stabbed on the left side of their necks, nearly severing their carotid artery and jugular, respectively. Another victim’s leg was slashed near the femoral artery and the victim had difficulty standing for a month after the alleged attack.
Brooks fled the scene after the incident. He was arrested at LaGuardia Airport on October 19 by members of the Port Authority Police and Nassau County Police Departments disembarking from a flight returning to New York from Florida. After his arrest, he allegedly attempted to bribe victims with cash to prevent them from cooperating with the prosecution.
On November 21, Brooks, 50, was arraigned before Judge Christopher Quinn on five counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a Class B felony); five counts of Assault in the First Degree (a Class B violent felony); five counts of Assault in the Second Degree (a Class D violent felony); Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree (all Class D felonies); Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree (a Class A misdemeanor); Public Lewdness and Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree (both Class B misdemeanors); Criminal Solicitation in the Fourth Degree (a Class A misdemeanor); Attempting to Bribe a Witness (a Class E felony) and Tampering with a Witness in the Fourth Degree (a Class A misdemeanor).
Brooks pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $500,000 cash, $1 million bond, and $2.5 million partially secured bond. He is due back in court on December 20.
If convicted, he faces up to 25 years to life in prison consecutively on each of the attempted murder counts, as well as potential consecutive sentences on the attempted bribery and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree counts.
“This defendant went on an alleged stabbing spree outside of a house party, viciously and indiscriminately slashing and stabbing at partygoers, and ultimately injured a total of eight people,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “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. Several victims suffered deep gashes to their arms and have permanent mobility loss. After his arrest for this nearly deadly rampage, the defendant allegedly attempted to tamper with the prosecution, offering money to victims for their silence. This kind of random, brutal violence will not go unchecked in Nassau County.”