Two Shomrim thugs who dodged jail after beating a gay black man into a pulp are now trying to shirk the conditions of their plea deal.
Pinchas Braver and Abraham Winkler who admitted to jumping Taj Patterson as he walked down a Williamsburg block in Brooklyn in December 2013 have now taken issue with the DA’s recommendation that they serve their 150 hours of community service in a “culturally diverse neighborhood.”
Instead, the men want to toil at Chai Lifeline, an organization for sick Jewish children.
While Braver, 22, and Winkler, 42, were in court Tuesday for sentencing, prosecutors opted to return to court Aug. 16 after a more thorough investigation into Chai, which describes itself as an organization dedicated to offering “a number of services for Jewish children with life-threatening illness.”
As part of the plea, the two men agreed to be sentenced on charges of unlawful imprisonment to three years probation and to pay $1,400 restitution for the vicious attack, which left Patterson permanently blind in his left eye.
Though five defendants were originally charged in the beating, charges were dropped against two of them Aharon Hollender and Joseph Fried in 2014 and 2015. The remaining defendant, Mayer Heskovic, has opted to head to trial. He will return to court Aug. 23.
Two Shomrim thugs who copped a cushy plea deal to dodge jail for beating a gay black man are now refusing to even do their community service — because it would be in a “culturally diverse neighborhood.’’
Pinchas Braver, 22, and Abraham Winkler, 42, admitted to helping to beat fashion student Taj Patterson as he walked down a Williamsburg street in December 2013.
Patterson was pummeled so badly, he suffered a broken orbital socket and torn retina, leaving him permanently blind in one eye.
Braver, Winkler and a third man — all members of the Orthodox Jewish watchdog patrol group — were charged with gang hate crime, which can carry a prison sentence of up to 25 years.
Braver and Winkler agreed to plead guilty to unlawful imprisonment in exchange for three years’ probation, paying $1,400 in restitution and performing 150 hours of community service in a “culturally diverse neighborhood.’’
But the men are now trying to shirk their obligations under the deal.
They went to court in Brooklyn Tuesday saying they want to volunteer only at Chai Lifeline, an organization for sick Jewish children.
Prosecutors asked that the men’s sentencing be delayed to give them time to evaluate Chai, which describes itself as an organization dedicated to offering “a number of services for Jewish children with life-threatening illness.”
The parties are set to return to court next Tuesday.
Though five defendants were originally charged in the beating, the charges against two of them — Aharon Hollender and Joseph Fried — were dropped in 2014 and 2015. The remaining defendant, Mayer Heskovic, has opted to head to trial. He will return to court on Aug. 23.
The group was accused of attacking Patterson, then 22, as he was leaving a party at about 5 a.m. They ordered him to his knees and started screaming anti-gay slurs before stomping and kicking him.
Patterson filed a lawsuit against the city and the NYPD in June, claiming that the Shomrim have been given “favorable and preferential treatment” for years.
He alleges in the court papers that the investigation into his assault was flubbed after high-powered Shomrim members placed calls to the 90th Precinct.
Braver was even given a tour of the 19th Precinct after his attack on Patterson. The precinct was run at the time by now-disgraced ex-NYPD Deputy Chief James Grant, who has since been indicted on charges of conspiracy, bribery and fraud for allegedly accepting payola from Jewish businessmen.
The sentencing of two Brooklyn Hasidic men who admitted to participating in the vicious beating of a gay black man was put on hold Tuesday after they chose a community service organization that services Jewish children, not a culturally diverse community as recommended.
Pinchas Braver and Abraham Winkler pleaded guilty in May to unlawful imprisonment in connection with where Taj Patterson was beaten on a Williamsburg street in December 2013.
As a condition of the plea bargain, the prosecutor recommended that their 150 hours of community service be served in a “culturally diverse neighborhood outside of where this unlawful imprisonment took place.”
Patterson, 25, suffered serious injuries that left him blind in the right eye.
Braver, 22, and Winkler, 42, will also receive three years probation and pay $1400 in restitution.
Their attorneys advised Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun during a sidebar conference on Tuesday that their clients want to participate with Chai Lifeline for their community service.
According to the organization’s website, they offer a number of services for Jewish children with life threatening illness.
“The people have concerns with the organization, under the plea the community service was to be in a culturally diverse atmosphere,” the judge said after the parties took a brief break to quickly research the organization.
The sentence was delayed for another week for prosecutors to further investigate Chai Lifeline.
Prior to the pair taking a plea, prosecutors dismissed charges against Aharon Hollender and Joseph Fried when the sole witness recanted.
Meanwhile, the last of the five alleged assailants Mayer Herskovic, will go forward with trial on Aug. 23.
If convicted, Herskovic faces up to 25 years in prison for gang assault.