Sam Mensah, the man we wrote about in September 2023 for assaulting unsuspecting Upper East Siders while pushing a stroller—which on at least some occasions contained his two-year-old child—is facing a five-year prison sentence.
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“Today, Sam Mensah pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court on IND-70177-23 to one count of Assault in the Second Degree, with a promised sentence of 5 years in state prison and 5 years of post-release supervision,” a representative of the Manhattan D.A.’s office tells East Side Feed. “On IND-74586-23, Sam Mensah pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to one count of Assault in the Third Degree, with a promised sentence of 364 days, to run concurrent with the 5-year sentence. Sam Mensah is remanded on each case. Sentencing will be on September 5, 2024.”
For Laurence Warshaw, Mensah’s 69-year-old victim, this is a welcome relief. “I was supposed to get ready to testify in the trial tomorrow when I was alerted [Mensah] took a plea,” explains Warshaw. “My ADA told me his maximum sentence was seven years, so five is ok.”
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In December 2022, Warshaw, an attorney, was at a local newsstand on East 86th Street when Mensah, 33, attacked him, unprovoked, knocking him unconscious. Mensah was arrested but subsequently released on just $1,500 bail. Mensah had his own child in tow in a stroller, which he reportedly used in later attacks. Warshaw had no recollection of being knocked unconscious, and only learned he’d been attacked when a police officer alerted him.
In the months that followed, myriad Upper East Siders took to social media detailing their own encounters with Mensah. East Side Feed broke the story, connecting the dots to all the reported cases online after this author’s own attack. As a result, a Crimestoppers alert was finally issued and on September 14, 2023, Mensah was again arrested.
The arrest took place at the Whole Foods at 226 East 57th Street, where according to court records, Mensah used a “handheld shopping basket to strike [a 76-year-old] in the face causing lacerations and substantial pain.” He was also charged with assault for allegedly shoving the older woman on Sept. 9th on East 77th Street near Third Avenue.
Congrats on connecting the dots on this case, and glad the DA’s office issued a release on the conviction. One wishes for similar outcomes, journalistic and prosecutorial, on other street menaces.
This was because he had a child with him and it was the UES. It is not indicative of Alvin’s sentencing practices.