Subscribe
NewsOne Featured Video
CLOSE

A lawyer representing the Manhattan woman charged with the Christmas stabbing of a Black transgender man during a subway ride claims his client was acting in self-defense, the New York Daily News reports.

On Tuesday, Elise Chandler, the lawyer defending 30-year-old Stephanie Pazmino, claims she used a “sharp object used for cleaning fingernails,” to cut Ijan Jarrett, 44, after he attempted to “take out her eyes with his nails and fingers.” Chandler pointed to a cut below Pazmino’s right eye for reference.

Chandler also argued Pazmino’s mental state contributed to her reaction, the outlet writes. Pazmino suffers with psychiatric issues and resides in a shelter for women.

Judge Ushir Pandit-Durant set Pazmino’s bail at $4,000 cash/$7,500 bond, according to the Daily News. She faces charges of assault in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon.

But sources who witnessed the incident tell a different story, the Daily News reports. Witnesses claimed Jarrett offered his seat to Pazmino after she boarded a Northbound 4 train with family. Pazmino allegedly refused the seat, then turned to her cousin to say she didn’t want to sit next to a Black person in Spanish.

Jarrett, who works as a hairdresser in New Jersey, stood up to give away his seat after Pazmino’s refusal. He claims she attacked him moments after she stood up to exit the train.

Jarrett suffered multiple wounds to his face, hand and arm, according to the outlet.

SOURCE: New York Daily News

SEE ALSO:

Transgender Nurse Stabbed 119 Times By Sailor In Mississippi

Supreme Court To Rule On Transgender Rights

Remember: Transgender Women Who Were Murdered In 2016
0 photos