4 charged in Queens subway attack on homeless man

Four homeless men were charged with assault and robbery after prosecutors said they tried to rob another homeless man on the 7 train in Woodside over the weekend.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said the man who was being robbed then stabbed two of his attackers, killing one of them. That man has not been charged with a crime, though Katz said her office would continue to investigate.

The incident unfolded during a particularly grisly weekend in the transit system, during which the number of homicides doubled compared to last year and after a homeless woman died after she was set on fire on the F train at a Coney Island subway station. Police charged Sebastian Zapeta, 33, with murder and arson in that attack.

The melee on the 7 train in Woodside happened just before 12:30 a.m. Sunday near the 61st Street-Woodside station, prosecutors said. A 69-year-old man was asleep on the train and awoke to find two homeless men stealing his belongings, Katz said.

She said the 69-year-old then followed the men into another subway car to retrieve his belongings and a physical altercation ensued between the robbery victim and a total of five others, who were all homeless. According to prosecutors, the 69-year-old then stabbed two of the men.

According to police, one of the men, who was 37, was stabbed in the torso and later died at Elmhurst Hospital, while another man, Philipe Pena, was slashed throughout his body and was in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital.

"We cannot have thieves ganging up on any individuals inside the transit system," Katz said. "It is our responsibility to make sure that people have safe access to the subway, which is an intricate part of New York City."

The four men charged are Pena, 26, Henry Toapanta, 32, Oswaldo Walter, 29 and Jose Valencia, 35. All faced two counts of robbery in the second degree and one count of assault in the second degree.

Additionally, Pena and Walter were charged with attempted gang assault in the first degree.

According to prosecutors, Valencia, Walter, Pena and Toapanta punched and continued to rob the 69-year-old man during the altercation. Officials said that when the five men fled into the next subway car, Pena attempted to close the subway car door on the 69 year old.

Valencia was being held on $100,000 bail, Walter on $75,000 bail and Toapanta on $50,000 bail. Pena remained hospitalized and was scheduled to be arraigned at a later date. If convicted of their most serious charges, each defendant could face a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Valencia’s lawyer, Susan Silverman, questioned why the person who stabbed the men hasn’t yet been charged.

“They didn’t even arrest him,” Silverman said. “They made a decision to not make an arrest when he was holding a bloody knife.”

Silverman said she didn’t expect her client to make bail. She said her client has multiple prior petit larceny charges.