A judge chillingly foresaw David Mazariegos’ escalating violence as he begrudgingly lowered his bail in an assault case — just months before the maniac allegedly beat a beloved security guard to death outside a Brooklyn subway station.
The premonition by Manhattan Judge Robert Rosenthal was revealed in a transcript from a July hearing, after prosecutors couldn’t secure a felony assault charge against Mazariegos, 25, in a case with eerie echoes to his later alleged fatal beating of Nicola Tanzi, 64, this week.
“The severity of these is increasing over time,” Rosenthal said during the hearing, referring to Mazariegos’ mile-long rap sheet, which mostly consisted of petty offenses until the assault in late June.
Mazariegos’ charge in that case had been reduced to a misdemeanor, but prosecutors still pushed for the same $2,500 bail set when he’d been first arraigned on the felony, the transcript shows.
His court-appointed attorney, Gretchen Reeser, argued Mazariegos wasn’t a flight risk and should be released without bail based on his lack of violent history at the time — a request that gave Rosenthal considerable pause, according to the transcript.
“I mean that is the point but what mitigates against that is that this is the first violent crime,” the judge said, adding that the fact that the charges against Mazariegos increasingly becoming more serious “is suggesting to me something other than returning to court.”
But Rosenthal, his hands effectively tied due to the misdemeanor charge, dropped Mazariegos’ bail to $1,000 — setting the stage for his release, during which he allegedly ramped up his violence Tuesday by beating Tanzi to death outside Jay Street-MetroTech station.
The failure to keep Mazariegos behind bars was seized by Diana Florence, who is running as an independent to replace Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Florence contended Bragg’s policies and the state’s bail reforms led to Mazariegos’ release.
“Tuesday’s tragedy was preventable,” she said in a statement. “Nicola Tanzi didn’t have to die.”
Richard Fife, a spokesman for Bragg’s re-election campaign, shot back that Florence was “shamelessly distorting the truth and exploiting a tragedy to score cheap political points.”
The court record shows that prosecutors mounted an aggressive case against Mazariegos after he allegedly sucker punched a security guard outside a Chelsea theater on June 24.
The alleged assault was a dire escalation from Mazariegos’ lengthy criminal record at that point, which mostly consisted of petty offenses ranging from fare evasion to graffiti to larceny.
Prosecutors sought a felony assault charge and pushed for $5,000 bail during Mazariegos’ arraignment July 2, records show.
Reeser argued during the hearing that Mazariego should get supervised release, telling the court he was a struggling artist who couldn’t afford bail. She noted he was working with the Youth Justice Network, a group that matches young people in the New York City’s justice system with advocates to help turn their lives around.
“Even if he were convicted of the top count, a jail sentence is very unlikely, and monetary bail would amount to jail time for my client,” she said, according to a court transcript.
Judge Julieta Lozano disagreed, noting Mazariegos at the time had three open cases and a past misdemeanor arson conviction, and set bail at $2,500 cash.
But by July 8, prosecutors reduced the charge to a misdemeanor because the 65-year-old victim’s injuries weren’t enough to secure a felony indictment, officials said.
They still pushed for $2,500 bail and added additional misdemeanor assault charges against Mazariegos — but Reeser again argued her client was turning his life around.
Mazariegos had completed an animation project internship in May and moved onto another eight-week arts internship through the Youth Justice Network, his lawyer said.
He also volunteered with several community organizations through the network, as well as helped with a literacy program called “Read It and Leave It,” Reeser said.
The troubled Mazariegos was living with his aunt in the Bronx, she said.
But Rosenthal didn’t completely buy that Mazariegos was headed onto the straight-and-narrow.
“Given the pattern of the increasing cases — the increasing behavior, given the number of cases so quickly, which does absolutely — is in opposition to everything that you are telling me,” he said. “Everything I am hearing about him is he is a great guy, and he is progressing, and doing all of these things.”
Reeser acknowledged Mazariegos had “issues,” but said he’s getting help — prompting another skeptical reply by Rosenthal, according to the transcript.
“But it seems — it is — contrary to that, it seems like this behavior is new behavior that I
have not seen — that you don’t see prior in the rap sheet and undermines my confidence in his appearance in court,” he said.
“Like something is going on here beyond this. And I want him here.”
Rosenthal set Mazariegos’ bail at $1,000 to ensure he wouldn’t skip his next court hearing.
“(The) escalating nature of this case from the other cases leads me to determine that you pose a flight risk to avoid prosecution,” the judge said.
Mazariegos’ bail was posted a few days later.
He was busted again a month later after he allegedly jumped on top of a car in the Bronx, shattering its windshield, while maniacally yelling, “Come get me. Y’all afraid of the government,” court records state.
Mazariegos was released on his own recognizance in the case, which was his last arrest before Tanzi’s beating death in Brooklyn, for which he now faces a murder charge, records show.
His attorney couldn’t be reached for comment.
