Allegations of a racially motivated attack on a CDTA bus in January that police later said were false have resulted in the indictment of the three women who initially said they had been assaulted.
The three women were indicted on assault and false reporting charges for assaulting a 19-year-old woman on a CDTA bus on Jan. 30 at the University of Albany campus and then telling police that they had been the ones who were attacked, Albany County District Attorney David Soares announced Monday.
The 20-year-olds Ariel Agudio, Asha Burwell and Alexis Briggs, UAlbany students at the time of the incident, caused physical injury to a 19-year-old woman by repeatedly hitting her, according to the indictment. Burwell and Agudio then told police dispatchers that they had been attacked because of their race. All three women are black.
The trio of women “did falsely report the incident to law enforcement after exiting the bus on Jan. 30 and days following the alleged incident,” according to the indictment.
Agudio, of Huntington, was indicted on one count of assault, three counts of attempted assault, three counts of falsely reporting an incident and three counts of harassment. Burwell, of Huntington Station, was arraigned on one count of assault, four counts of falsely reporting an incident and one count of harassment. Briggs, of Elmira Heights, was arraigned on one count of assault and two counts of false reporting.
Agudio is accused of assaulting a 19-year-old bus rider named Mary Glisson, rushing to the area where Glisson sat and climbing over a seat occupied by others. Agudio “did strike victim in the head with her left hand and then her right hand, multiple times,” according to court paperwork. Burwell is accused of striking Glisson in a similar manner.
Glisson suffered soft tissue damage to her neck as well as swelling and bruising to her face, according to paperwork.
Agudio is also accused of trying to assault a bus rider named Robert McCarthy, 19, who used his cellphone to record Agudio after the assault on Glisso. Agudio allegedly knocked the man’s phone from his hands to the ground.
“The defendant did observe the victim recording her and using her left hand does strike the victim repeatedly about the head and face,” papers read.The indictment also alleges that Agudio attempted to injure a 19-year-old male as well as physically assault two other female bus passengers.
Agudio, Burwell and Briggs are scheduled to appear Wednesday before Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick.
Reach Gazette reporter Zachary Matson at 395-3120, [email protected] or @zacharydmatson on Twitter.
Categories: -News-, Schenectady County
