Trial Date Set in Bus Assault; Union Objects to "Alternatives to Incarceration"

MAY 23 – Over 75 Bus Operators and other transit workers crowded a Manhattan criminal courtroom this morning for the trial of Rashon Eagle, who is accused of assaulting Bus Operator Moses Adams on the M15 Bus last February. After a brief scuffle with our Bus Operator, Eagle allegedly attacked Adams with a knife. Fortunately, our Operator was able to disarm him.
 
Bus Operator Adams was present in the courtroom along with his wife and Local 100 officers from MABSTOA including VP Donald Yates and Division Chair Sean Battaglia.
 
The case was called at 10:45am. In the brief hearing, a Legal Aid attorney representing the assailant said that his client’s last arrest had occurred in 2018 and that he was seeking an Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) decision for drug and mental health treatment. The judge said that the parties were free to agree on an ATI, but that in the meantime he was setting a trial date of August 15. The attacker, Rashon Eagle, is currently out on $3,000 cash bail.
 
Outside the court, MABSTOA VP Donald Yates disagreed with the possibility of an ATI. “Moses Adams faced a very terrible assault,” Yates said outside of court. “We’re not feeling like we’re getting the justice that is deserved in this matter. This case was an attempted murder. He fought for his life. The least the court system could do is prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. Our Operators face daily challenges while serving the public.”
 
Division Chair Sean Battaglia said in part, “This was attempted murder… We come to work to provide a service for the riding public. We do not come here to get assaulted. To hear that this accused attacker had the option of an ATI is an outrage. We’re not going to stand for it.”