Coram Parolee Plans To Appeal 22 Years To Life Sentence In Beating Of Rider On Suffolk Bus: Attorney

RIVERSIDE, NY — A Coram parolee, who was released after serving time for murder, plans to appeal his sentence of 22 years to life in prison for using a padlock tied to a strap to beat another passenger on a Suffolk County bus, his attorney told Patch Thursday.

Brian France, 62, of Coram, was convicted after a jury trial in October of one count each of second-and third-degree assault.

His defense attorney, Chase Brown of Central Islip, said that while his client respects the jury's verdict, "he intends to appeal and looks forward to his innocence coming to light."

Brown said he will be filing an appeal on France's behalf next week, but declined to comment further.

A different attorney will be handling the appeal, he said.

In 1981, France was convicted of first-degree rape and third-degree burglary and was sentenced to two to six years in prison, and in 1985, he was convicted of third-degree grand larceny for which he was sentenced to one and one-half to three years in prison, District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

In 1988, he was convicted of second-degree murder for which he was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison and served from October 1988 to August 2020. During that stretch, in 2005, he was convicted of second-degree attempted assault and additionally sentenced to one and one and one-half year to three years in prison, according to Tierney.

He was initially released on parole for the murder conviction in August 2020, until his parole was violated in February 2023, and he was reincarcerated, but again released on parole on March 6, 2025 — committing the bus assault just two months later, on May 20, Tierney said.

Tierney said "the violent and unprovoked assault on another passenger simply riding the bus demonstrates why the ill-advised ‘Elder Parole’ bill, which is co-sponsored by a majority of the New York State legislature, will result in violence perpetrated on innocent victims."

“This murderer and rapist served over thirty-two years but would have been released
earlier under ‘Elder Parole,'" he said. "He was out just over two months when he committed this violent assault. The comfort of criminals must not be prioritized over the safety of New Yorkers.”

On May 20, France boarded a bus in Patchogue that was headed for Coram, and noticed the victim, whom he knew from Department of Social Services' housing, seated toward the rear of the bus, then approached him, walking past numerous empty seats to sit behind him, prosecutors said.

Video surveillance from inside the bus showed the man was seated in a relaxed posture
facing forward with his back to the defendant, and France took a padlock tied to a strap out of his
pocket, struck him multiple times in the head, and punched him repeatedly before getting out of the bus and running away, according to prosecutors.

As a result of the attack, the top of the victim’s ear was split in half, and he was treated at an area hospital, prosecutors said, adding that law enforcement responded to the scene and found the padlock used in the assault, as well as the video surveillance from the bus.