Police was reportedly told by a demented lunatic accused of slapping eight women during a chauvinist crime spree that he chose his victims because “you have to check women sometimes.”
As the suspected slugger was arraigned on assault charges and ordered held on $20,000 bond on Wednesday, Manhattan prosecutors said that Daquan Armstead, 31, informed police that he preferred not to pick on guys.
“It’s different with men,” Armstead allegedly said to police. “They don’t test you like women.”
Following eight unprovoked attacks on women this year, Armstead was apprehended by police just after midnight and charged with third-degree assault and harassment, according to the authorities.
This includes an assault on April 17 at around 10:30 a.m. in Washington Square Park that left a 27-year-old New York University administrator with a slap on his face, according to police.
After missing court dates related to incidents in 2021, Armstead was also wanted on two arrest warrants. He was apprehended in February of this year and is reported to have attacked seven additional women after a Manhattan judge released him without bond, according to the prosecution.
Armstead’s attorney stated in court on Wednesday that he has mental health problems.
In court, Katherine Bajuk, the defense attorney, stated, “He seems to have fallen through the cracks, in regards to no longer receiving mental health treatment.”
“When someone with a mental health concern is incarcerated, nothing good happens with anybody,” she stated to Judge Michael Ryan. “The person becomes less commented with services they need, and the outcome for everyone and everything is worse.”
The violent outburst started on February 12 at approximately 11:50 a.m., when authorities claim Armstead approached a 30-year-old lady on Elizabeth Street, hit her without warning, and ran away.
He is accused of assaulting a 30-year-old lady on Delancey Street on March 24 at around two in the morning, striking her in the back of the head as she turned. Then he took off running.
According to police, Armstead is accused of striking a 36-year-old woman in the back when she was walking at the intersection of Chrystie and Rivington streets the next day at around 10:15 a.m.
Read Also: Fifth Suspect Charged in Double Homicide of Kansas Moms
He is accused of slugging another woman on April 2 after she told him she didn’t have $1 when he asked her for it. He then allegedly hit her in the back of the head when she denied having any money.
He is also alleged to have attacked two women on April 5 on Delancey Street in two different incidents, according to police: a 25-year-old who was struck on the right side of her head at 12:25 p.m. and a 44-year-old who was punched in the face five minutes later.
Before the assault on the NYU administrator, Armstead is accused of hitting a woman, 24, on Stanton Street. The woman reportedly refused to give him $1 just before 10 a.m., and Armstead then punched her, according to police.
Per the records, his previous arrests were from a misdemeanor assault case from 2021. On Wednesday, a mental evaluation was mandated for him.
