Authorities re-arrested convicted sex offender Bui Van Phu, 55, the suspect in a brutal sucker punch attack outside a Bronx restaurant.
But they did not re-arrest Phu because of the attack. They arrested him for an alleged parole violation.
The public fumed when the Bronx District Attorney’s office dropped the attempted murder charge to third-degree assault and second-degree harassment, which are misdemeanors.
The Bronx Criminal Court released him “on supervised release without bail” since the new charges are not eligible for bail.
Gotta love the new bail laws!
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is in a heated race for office against Rep. Lee Zeldin. She stepped in when she heard about authorities releasing Bui, “instructing corrections officials to expedite an investigation into whether he violated terms of parole.”
Hochul also contacted Bronx DA Darcel D. Clark.
Bui told his parole officer he sucker-punched Jesus Cortez, 52. The parole officer could not arrest him “without ‘additional clear and convincing evidence’ he had violated the terms of his parole on the sex assault charge.” From Fox News:
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) said that its officers are “required to conduct a thorough investigation before taking someone into custody for an alleged parole violation,” according to a statement obtained by Fox News. “Officers cannot act unilaterally, even when they have information that an individual has committed another crime.””In this case, the assigned parole Officer (PO) recognized Bui from the Crime Stoppers video and alerted the NYPD. Shortly thereafter, Bui called his PO and made admissions, and his PO directed Bui to turn himself into the NYPD,” the statement said. “A judge released Mr. Bui on his own recognizance.””Given this information, DOCCS was in the process of an investigation and expedited efforts at the direction of the Governor,” it continued. “After that comprehensive review, DOCCS issued a warrant and took Mr. Bui in custody. A judge remanded him to New York City Department of Correction custody based on the agency’s work. DOCCS will continue with the parole revocation process and cooperate with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office as it prosecutes the assault charges.”
Bui has been on parole since 2019:
Bui was convicted of first-degree sex abuse in the Bronx in 1995 and was sentenced to six years to life in prison, according to state records. He was paroled in 2019 and is now registered as a Level 3 sex offender — the most serious designation — for sexually abusing the 17-year-old girl in 1994, according to state records.Bui was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon and robbery in the city back in the 1990s, police sources said.
Nixa Rivera, Bui’s parole officer, told the court that he “continues to be an imminent threat to the community.”
Why did the parole board grant him parole!?
Thank goodness Cortes is on the road to recovery. Bui fractured his skull, and doctors had to put him in a medically-induced coma. The hospital took him off the ventilator, and he can speak to his family, even if he can only give one-word answers.
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