A Yonkers barber has been convicted of slashing a customer's arm with a straight razor inside his own shop last year, an attack so severe it damaged an artery, a nerve, and a tendon and required emergency reconstructive surgery. Jeury Fernandez-Navarro, 38, grabbed a seated patron by the hair, pulled his head backward, and then cut into his left forearm, according to prosecutors.
The Westchester County District Attorney's Office announced the conviction, which stemmed from an August 4, 2025 attack at a South Broadway barbershop where Fernandez-Navarro worked, as reported by Daily Voice. The confrontation reportedly did not stay confined to the shop's chairs — the attack continued outside the barbershop before a Yonkers police officer intervened and stopped it, taking Fernandez-Navarro into custody on the spot.
Jury Finds Reckless Conduct, Not Intent
Although Westchester prosecutors had pressed intentional assault charges, the jury in Westchester County Court found that Fernandez-Navarro acted recklessly rather than intentionally when he cut the patron, according to lohud. That finding still met the statutory threshold for the charge he was ultimately convicted of: second-degree assault, along with a separate count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
District Attorney Susan Cacace, who took office in January 2025 after 19 years as a Westchester County trial judge, described the incident as a “brazen and vicious attack.” The victim suffered a deep cut to the left forearm and needed surgery to repair the damaged artery, nerve, and tendon; he was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla for treatment.
What the Conviction Means for Sentencing
Second-degree assault under New York Penal Law § 120.05 is classified as a Class D violent felony, and under state law, a first-time felony offender faces a mandatory prison term ranging from two to seven years, with judges holding limited discretion to go below that minimum. Fernandez-Navarro faces up to seven years in state prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24. The fourth-degree weapon possession count, a Class A misdemeanor, carries a maximum of 364 days in jail or up to three years of probation under state weapons law, though such misdemeanor sentences are typically served alongside felony prison terms tied to the same case. Fernandez-Navarro, a Yonkers resident, remains held at the Westchester County Jail.
Straight Razors Face Strict State Oversight
The case surfaces questions about how dangerous the tools of the barbering trade can be if misused. New York State Division of Licensing Services rules require that straight razors used in commercial shops be disposable or fitted with single-use blades swapped out after every client, a safeguard set under 19 NYCRR § 160.18. Barbershop operators themselves must be licensed by the New York Department of State, which reviews sanitary standards and moral character, though state law bars automatic disqualification based solely on a prior criminal record.
Commercial barbering in New York wasn't always this tightly regulated on paper while being loosely policed on culture — the state actually banned barbering on Sundays entirely until 2021, when a Courthouse News report noted then-Governor Andrew Cuomo repealed the century-old blue law.
A Violent Crime Drop, With Notable Exceptions
The Yonkers slashing arrives even as the city has reported a broader decline in violent crime. City officials tallied 529 violent crime incidents in 2025, a 27% single-year drop and a 42% decrease compared to 2011, according to figures from the City of Yonkers. The conviction also lands during Cacace's first term leading the Westchester County DA's Office, which in July collaborated with federal prosecutors and tri-state law enforcement to unseal a 15-count indictment against 11 members of a regional street gang accused of violent assaults and robberies, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
