Suspects in attack of off-duty NYPD officer indicted by grand jury
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The suspects accused of pummeling an off-duty NYPD police officer last month in the Bronx have been indicted by a grand jury.
One of them, Wayne Lucas, 23, was extradited from Virginia and was arraigned on the indictment Thursday morning.
He pleaded entered a not guilty plea inside a courtroom packed with police officers.
Lucas and his co-defendant, Taveon Hargrove, 23, were indicted for allegedly brutally beating an off-duty NYPD officer in the Bronx last month.
The attack was captured on surveillance video and prosecutors say it continued even after the two suspects realized their victim was a member of the NYPD.
Prosecutors say the suspects stole officer's wallet, phone and loaded service weapon. The 27-year-old victim was stomped in the head during the assault.
Officer Chowdhury Nafees was released from the hospital last week, but still faces a long road to recovery.
Both suspects were caught in Virginia. Lucas was wearing a wig as a disguise as he left a house in Richmond in an unsuccessful attempt to conceal his identity.
Hargrove remains in Virginia, fighting extradition.
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