A bat-wielding man caught-on-camera whacking a homeless person in the head during a shocking attack on a city street will avoid jail time under a sweetheart plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, The Post has learned.
Prosecutors said they offered Karim Azizi the cushy deal in part because they’d been unable to find his victim – a 47-year-old homeless man who suffered gruesome injuries to his face and head in the Nov. 29, 2022, beatdown in Sugar Hill.
“After diligent efforts to find [the victim] we were unable,” Assistant District Attorney Heather Manley explained to a judge in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday, according to a transcript of the hearing.
She added that Azizi, 36, didn’t have a prior criminal history, was “willing to take responsibility for his actions,” and had been dealing with the loss of a family member at the time of the attack.
Azizi – who has been free on $7,500 bail – had faced up to seven years behind bars for the assault in which he pulled a bat from his pants and swung it at the victim, causing him to tumble to the ground near Amsterdam Avenue and West 148th Street.
As part of the deal, Azizi pleaded guilty to second and third-degree assault and must participate in a treatment program for the next 15 months, until his sentencing.
If he successfully completes the program at the Center for Justice Innovation – undergoing individual and group therapy sessions – he’ll be sentenced only to one year of conditional release on the lesser charge.
The more serious second-degree assault charge would be dismissed at that point.
But if he fails to stay out of trouble and doesn’t finish the program, the guilty plea would stick and he’d face a minimum of three-and-a-half years behind bars and a maximum of seven.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ellen Biben reminded Azizi of the seriousness of the agreement he entered into during the Sept. 14 plea hearing.
“Mr. Azizi, you understand that you are now, having taken this plea, you’re now engaged in a mandate that has very serious requirements,” Biben said.
“If you are not successful or because it involves a new arrest or absconding there are very serious consequences for you, including significant state prison time. So it’s important that you’re following all of the requirements of the mandate,” the judge explained.
The victim suffered gruesome injuries at the time of the attack including, bleeding from his face and head, swelling on the back of his head and a cut on the front of his head, prosecutors previously said.
Footage captured Azizi walking away after the beating, before returning and stomping on the victim, cops said.
Law enforcement sources have said the pair had an argument before the incident.
Manley, the ADA, added during last week’s hearing that Azizi at the time “was dealing with the loss of a close family member and feelings of grief contributing to how he acted.”
Investigators also searched for the victim at homeless shelters and his previous addresses, in addition to speaking to family – all to no avail, Manley said.
Douglas Cohen, a spokesman for DA Alvin Bragg, said Friday: “We conduct a careful review before determining whether requiring treatment or programming is in the best interest of public safety.
“Mr. Azizi, who has no prior criminal history, is required to participate in treatment services under the supervision of the court to ensure accountability.”
Azizi’s lawyer, Jason Goldman, told The Post: “Due to Mr. Azizi’s exemplary behavior and character, the Judge agreed that a misdemeanor, non-jail resolution was just here. Mr. Azizi has a bright future.’
