A 12-year-old male and a 13-year-old male were arrested Saturday in connection with a physical attack on former New York Democratic Gov. David Paterson and his stepson, police told the Associated Press.
Paterson, 70, and his stepson, Anthony Sliwa, 20, were attacked around 8:30 p.m. Friday while they were walking on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the AP said, adding that they were treated at a hospital for minor facial injuries.
Paterson said his stepson encountered some of the attackers beforehand while walking the family dog.
Paterson is legally blind and suffered bodily injuries, the outlet said, adding that Sliwa is the son of Guardian Angels anti-crime group founder Curtis Sliwa.
The two juvenile males both were charged with gang assault, the AP said, adding that authorities indicated at least five people were involved in the attack.
Paterson was governor from 2008 to 2010 following Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s resignation in a prostitution scandal, the outlet said, which added that Paterson was New York’s first black governor.
Paterson said his stepson encountered some of the attackers beforehand while walking the family dog, telling them he would call police if they didn’t stop climbing up a Second Avenue building’s fire escape, the AP said.
It was after the aforementioned exchange that Paterson said he and his stepson went for a walk, ran into the same group, and an argument ensued before the group attacked Paterson and Sliwa, the outlet reported.
Paterson said his stepson fought off multiple attackers but ended up with a facial cut that required several stitches, the AP said.
Two more arrests
In addition to the pair of arrested juveniles, two adults were arrested Monday in connection with the attack on Patterson and Sliwa.
Travor Nurse, 40, and Diamond Minter, 34 — both New York City Housing Authority workers — were arrested on Second Avenue near East 96th Street, police and sources told the New York Post.
Trevor Nurse, 40, and Diamond Minter, 34, were charged in the gang attack on former New York Gov. David Paterson.Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Both suspects were charged with second-degree gang assault, the Post said, adding that Nurse also was accused of punching Paterson and faces an additional assault charge for injuring a victim 65 or older. Both charges are felonies, police told the paper.
A 14-year-old male wasn’t charged after police determined he was not an aggressor, the Post said.
The paper, citing sources, added that Nurse previously was arrested in Brooklyn in late July on an aggravated unlicensed operator charge, in addition to other traffic violations. The Post, citing sources, also reported that Nurse was arrested in August 2009 for gun possession.
The paper said it wasn’t immediately known if Minter, the other adult arrestee, has previous arrests on her record.
The pair’s employer, the New York City Housing Authority, said they’re both still employed, the Post said.
“They have not reported to work,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “This is an active NYPD investigation. We don’t have any additional information at this time.”
You can view a video report here about the incident.
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