Police on Long Island say they arrested a man who allegedly attacked a 67-year-old bus driver after he was told to wear a face mask or he would need to leave.
Carre Handhel, 32, on Thursday got on a NICE bus at the Nassau Road and East Clinton Avenue stop in Roosevelt without wearing a protective face covering, according to Nassau County police.
Handel became "irate" after he was asked to comply with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order that mandated all New Yorkers to wear face-covering in public situations where social distancing is not possible.
Police say Handel started striking the bus driver on the top of his head and face with his cellphone, causing lacerations, and left.
Officers later located Handhel and arrested him. He was found to be in possession of a white powdery substance believed to be MDMA, police said. Authorities said that Handhel is also accused of making two bomb threats to a Baldwin Metro PCS store the previous day, as well as a 911 call on Thursday in which he said he was going to start shooting people in Roosevelt area.
A short time later officers were able to locate Handhel and place him under arrest without further incident. The victim was transported to an area hospital where he received sutures and staples to close his wounds.
During his arrest processing Handhel was found to be in possession of a white powdery substance believed to be MDMA (Ectasy or Molly).
Local
A subsequent investigation revealed that Handhel was the subject of two bomb threats that he made via telephone to a Baldwin Metro PCS store on 4/29/2020 and a 911 call he initiated on 4/30/2020 stating he was going to start shooting people in the Roosevelt area.
Handhel was charged with three counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance, three counts of falsely reporting an incident. He's expected to be arranged in court on Friday.
