Crime & Safety
Man Accused Of Punching Girl, 9, In Grand Central Held On $100K Bail
Jean Carlos Zarzuela, 30, was freed without bail after breaking a woman's nose, reports say. Days later, he punched a girl, officials said.
NEW YORK CITY — A violent stranger accused of randomly punching a 9-year-old girl in the face inside Grand Central Terminal over the weekend is being held on $100,000 bail, records show.
The bail set for Jean Carlos Zarzuela, 30, comes after a brief manhunt and a controversy over his release in a disturbingly similar case in the same iconic station.
Zarzuela walked up to 9-year-old girl inside the station's dining concourse Saturday and punched her in the face without warning, MTA officials said.
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He ran off, prompting a manhunt that ended with his arrest, the New York Daily News first reported.
And it wasn't the first time Zarzuela had faced similar accusations, according to the Daily News.
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Authorities said Zarzuela punched a 56-year-old woman in the face April 4 and broke her nose, the Daily News reported.
He originally faced a felony charge, but prosecutors dropped it to a misdemeanor after trouble getting a deposition from the woman, leading to his eventual release last week without bail, according to the report.
Within days, a freed Zarzuela was back inside Grand Central and punched another person: the girl, authorities said.
Zarzuela was arraigned Monday and ordered held on a $100,000 bond, according to court records.
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