STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A South Beach man was arrested in an attack that prosecutors say left a Staten Island woman hospitalized with a punctured lung.
Keyszon Lovelace, 20, of Norway Avenue, was arraigned Thursday in state Supreme Court, St. George, on charges that include assault, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the Aug. 14 incident involving a victim who was known to him.
The defendant, who stands 5′10″ and 180 pounds, is accused of striking the 20-year old victim and strangling her, then threatening further harm with a broomstick if she called 911 for medical care. Prosecutors, in arguing for higher bail this week, told the court the woman suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung.
The defendant, according to local law enforcement, then tried to intimidate the woman inside an ambulance against speaking to authorities, and called her from a precinct stationhouse following his arrest with the same intent. The defendant also was arrested in June on similar charges involving the same complainant, court records show.
Lovelace’s attorney, Maria Guastella, told a different story to the judge.
Guastella contended that her client was attacked and noted she’s in the process of hiring her own investigator to dig further into the circumstances surrounding the encounter.
Family of the defendant — who has no prior convictions and maintains a full time job — was able to raise 10% of the $30,000 bond set at the defendant’s arraignment in Criminal Court. Prosecutors requested Thursday that bail be raised based on information gleaned after the defendant’s first appearance.
Justice Maria Mundy, after hearing from both sides in the case, continued bail and adjourned to Sept. 28.
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