A 34-year-old man is facing a first-degree assault charge after allegedly slashing another man's abdomen with a box cutter outside a Fresh Food Farm on Manhattan's Upper East Side, leaving the victim with a roughly six-inch gash and protruding intestines, according to court documents. The victim also suffered cuts to his hands before being rushed into surgery, and police say he is now in stable condition.
The attack unfolded Sept. 22 at the store located at East 69th Street and Second Avenue, according to a complaint cited by the New York Post. Police told the outlet that three men were involved in the altercation and that the cause of the fight remains unclear. EMS transported the victim to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he underwent surgery before his condition stabilized.
Investigators recovered an orange box cutter from the right back pants pocket of the accused, Antonio Bonifacaio, per the same account. Court records dated Sept. 24 show Bonifacaio was charged with first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon; he pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. A second man, 25-year-old Eddy Idrovo Chamba, who is homeless, was charged with assault in connection with the melee, the report states.
Prosecutors Sought Six-Figure Bail
Prosecutors asked for $100,000 cash bail, a $200,000 insurance bond, or a $200,000 partially secured bond, the station's report notes. Bonifacaio's next court date is set for November. Under New York Penal Law, first-degree assault applies when a person acts with intent to cause serious physical injury to another, according to the New York State Senate's statutory text.
Same Courthouse, a Separate Mistake
In an unrelated case flagged in the same court records, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Sheridan Jack-Browne released 45-year-old Gerardo Miguel Mora — described as a wanted, deported felon — on his own recognizance, only for federal agents to arrest him before he could leave the courthouse. Mora was deported from the United States in 2014 and had served a year and a half in an upstate prison for attempted rape in Midtown, per the report; he also had a recent crack-possession charge and a long criminal record.
Court officials said Jack-Browne was not notified about a federal warrant for Mora, while police maintained the judge should have seen a notation in his file directing that he be held. Jack-Browne, a Democrat who won a 2025 special election for a judgeship in Brooklyn's 2nd Municipal Court District, has been serving in Manhattan Criminal Court. The New York City Bar Association had previously declined to approve her for the position, finding she had not affirmatively demonstrated the qualifications necessary for the role, according to the same New York Post report.
