Suspect in NYC subway stabbings had been arrested 2 days earlier in bakery assault

LONG ISLAND CITY, Queens (WABC) — Chilling details are being released about the man arrested in connection with a pair of subway stabbings a few stops apart on the 7 train in Queens.

Donny Ubiera, 32, was arrested Saturday and charged with two counts of attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

He was also charged in connection with an assault at a Queens bakery last Wednesday, in which he allegedly used a nail-embedded board to strike a man inside the business and then displayed a knife to responding officers.

He was ordered held without bail after the stabbings.

“Sanity prevailed when a judge decided today to detain a defendant accused of multiple attacks on subway passengers,” MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said. “It is not acceptable that someone who’s a clear danger could threaten a police officer with a knife one day and be put back on the street by the justice system the next day to stab others as happened here. Thanks to Queens DA Melinda Katz for aggressively pushing to protect New Yorkers.”

ALSO READ | Subway surfers caught on video walking atop Brooklyn J train

Katz said that Ubiera, of Bayside, began his spree around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, when he allegedly approached a man from behind as he entered the bakery near Warren Street and Roosevelt Avenue. Ubiera was allegedly holding a board with a nail protruding from it in one hand and a rock in the other and yelled for the man to “come outside and fight me.”

The victim attempted to evade Ubiera by running behind the bakery counter, authorities said, but Ubiera allegedly reached over and struck him on the head with the nail-embedded board.

Police say he then fled the scene but was confronted by officers. He allegedly pulled out a knife and refused to drop it.

Ubiera was taken into custody and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and reckless endangerment. He spent one night in jail before being released Thursday.

The victim was treated at an area hospital.

Then, at 8:40 a.m. on Friday, June 10, Katz said Ubiera stood over a man as he sat on a bench waiting for a train at the Queens Plaza subway station.

The victim was looking at his phone when he realized the man was hovering over him and heard something drop to the floor.

The victim spotted the knife, and that is when Ubiera allegedly picked it up and mumbled something inaudible before stabbing and slashing the man.

The victim raised his hands to protect himself and sustained numerous cuts and slash wounds to his hands, fingers and face.

Police said Ubiera fled the scene but was observed by two officers throwing two cellphones, one of which belonged to the victim.

The victim was taken to a local hospital where he required 36 stitches to close his wounds.

The following day, around 7:15 a.m. at the 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue subway station, authorities say Ubiera approached a group of four to five people waiting for the train.

Again, without provocation, Ubiera allegedly stabbed one of the men from behind and fled.

ALSO READ | Family searching for answers after 21-month-old dies at NJ day care

The victim was taken to a local hospital and treated for a stab wound to his neck, and he required two life-saving surgeries in order to repair the damage from the puncture wound.

Ubiera was later arrested on Utopia Parkway in Whitestone by detectives who recognized his image from video surveillance footage.

“The subway system provides a crucial lifeline to millions of New Yorkers, and the safety of our riders is paramount,” Katz said. “As alleged, the defendant began his three days of terror by violently attacking a man inside a bakery, before going on a rampage inside the transit system and repeatedly stabbing two straphangers without provocation over the course of two days.”

Ubiera has at 14 prior arrests and has been the subject of four emotionally disturbed person calls.

———-
* More Queens news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube
Submit a News Tip