The man accused of smearing human feces on an unsuspecting subway rider in February is now back behind bars.
Frank Abrokwa was released following his arrest related to that vile attack, then was arrested and released again for a separate alleged hate crime dating back to September 2021, in which he allegedly accosted a Jewish man and cursed at him, threatening to kill him and trying to punch him before chasing him on the street.
Abrokwa is also accused in an alleged screwdriver theft in the Bronx from February and has two pending cases in Manhattan. However, he had been released earlier in the month on supervised released, meaning means he only had to check in periodically with a supervised release office as his court cases proceed.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
But Abrokwa was being held on Rikers Island Monday night, charged with throwing a dumbbell through the window of a storage facility in Harlem. Investigators say Abrokwa also threatened a worker there on Thursday.
Earlier in the month, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said Abrokwa shouldn't have been on the street and his release "shows the scope of changes that we need to make in order to keep New Yorkers safe."
"It is the result of a failed mental health system, a failed housing and support system, and failing criminal justice laws that allow someone with a history of violence who poses a clear threat to public safety to just walk out of court," the mayor said. "We can’t allow this horrific situation to be the status quo and must make changes to our laws to both prevent these sort of attacks, through intervention and support, and, when they happen, to subsequently keep people who are clearly a danger to others off the street."
The 37-year-old, who has been arrested at least 40 times, is due back in court in April.
