The Queens man who argued he stabbed a subway rider to death in self-defense will avoid prosecution, city officials announced Wednesday.
A grand jury declined to indict Jordan Williams on manslaughter and weapons charged stemming from the June 13 killing on a Brooklyn J train. The 20-year-old had been arrested for the stabbing death of 36-year-old Devictor Quedraogo.
"Our office conducted an impartial and thorough investigation of this tragic case, which included review of multiple videos and interviews with all available witnesses, and that evidence was fairly presented to a grand jury. Today, the charges against Jordan Williams have been dismissed," a statement from the Kings County district attorney spokesperson said.
The violent incident broke out just after 8 p.m., and police responded to a 911 call of a man stabbed while aboard the train. When officers got to the train station, they found a 36-year-old man who had been stabbed in the chest.
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Quedraogo had been rushed to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Law enforcement sources told NBC New York that Quedraogo had been harassing multiple passengers while acting belligerent and erratic toward others on board. He may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, sources said, but a toxicology report will determine if that was the case.
Williams' girlfriend was one of the people who Quedraogo had been harassing, with an assistant district attorney revealing in court that Williams told Quedraogo to stop harassing his girlfriend and pushed him away.
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"Under New York law, a person is justified in using deadly physical force when they reasonably believe it is necessary to use such force to defend themselves or others from imminent use of deadly or unlawful physical force," the DA statement continued.
From the time of his arrest, Williams said he acted in self-defense; a grand jury believed him and refused to indict.
"I was scared in that situation," Williams said Wednesday, following the grand jury news. "I'm happy that I can get on with my life the way I'd like to."
When asked if he feels authorities moved too quickly to arrest and charge him with manslaughter, Williams said he's focused on the future, starting college and getting a job. The money raised by strangers for his defense fund, over $100,000, will now go to his college fund.
"I do feel it was a little fast but it’s behind me now I’m not going to dwell on it," he said. "I didn’t think a lot of people would support me and I’m definitely grateful for it."
The deadly stabbing had been compared to the death of Jordan Neely, put into a chokehold aboard a Manhattan subway by retired Marine Daniel Penny, who was indicted Wednesday. Penny claimed the street performer was also harassing and threatening riders, and that he was defending himself and others.
Overall, transit crime in New York City is down nearly 8 percent, according to the MTA, which said it is cooperating with investigations into both headline-grabbing incidents.
