A man accused of shoving two strangers onto New York City subway tracks, including an 83-year-old Air Force veteran who later died, had been deported four times before allegedly slipping back into the country again, federal officials said.
Bairon Posada-Hernandez came to the United States on January 2, 2008, and was removed multiple times over the years, most recently in 2020, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Officials say he returned yet again without being detected.
DHS described the Honduran national as having a “lengthy” criminal history that includes at least 15 prior charges ranging from assault and domestic violence to weapons and drug offenses.
“Bairon Posada-Hernandez is a serial criminal and a four-time deported illegal alien from Honduras who should never have been able to walk our streets and harm innocent Americans,” Deputy Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“We are praying for the victims and their families. DHS is calling upon New York sanctuary politicians to commit to this ICE detainer and not release this heinous criminal back into New York communities,” she added.
Authorities say the attack unfolded late Sunday morning on March 8 along the Upper East Side, where Posada-Hernandez allegedly shoved two men onto the tracks without warning.
One of those victims, later identified as Richard Williams, had served in the Air Force and had recently beaten prostate cancer after a five-year fight.
Witnesses rushed in to pull both men away from the tracks before an oncoming train could strike them.
Cellphone video captured the suspect calmly walking away from the platform moments after the shove. Police later tracked him to a Brooklyn shelter after receiving a tip.
Prosecutors initially charged him with attempted murder, assault, and reckless endangerment before the case took a more serious turn.
Williams remained hospitalized in critical condition after the attack.
“My father, Richard, is on a respirator in the ICU in the hospital. That’s all we are going to say,” one of his daughters said at the time.
Doctors operated on a brain bleed, but the outcome did not improve. After surgery, Williams showed no brain activity and was declared brain dead. He died nine days later on March 17.
Officials ruled the death a homicide and upgraded the charges against Posada-Hernandez to murder.
Williams’ daughter Debbie made clear what she wants to see happen next. “I want him to go to the Venezuela prison, the worst place he could go to,” she said. “I want him to suffer for the rest of his life. Prison justice would be appropriate.”
The second victim, 30-year-old John Rodriguez of Queens, described how the attack caught him completely off guard.
“I panicked, I started asking for help, not only for me but for the other man that was pushed,” Rodriguez recalled.
He had been on his way to work when the suspect suddenly forced him onto the tracks.
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Rodriguez began recording as bystanders tried to help, and moments later, the older man was also pushed.
Now recovering from injuries to his shoulder and neck, Rodriguez admitted the experience has left lasting effects.
“I get panic attacks just thinking about getting on the subway,” he said.
Across the country, a similar close call played out at a train station in Seattle, where another man narrowly avoided being killed after a sudden shove near an approaching train.
Peter Michael Walbrun stood near the platform at Northgate Station on March 19, looking at his phone, when a man rushed him from behind.
Surveillance video shows the suspect lingering near an elevator before stepping out as a train approached.
Prosecutors say the man, identified as 26-year-old Elisio Melendez, timed the move before lunging forward.
Walbrun felt the impact and dropped toward the tracks but managed to catch himself. He turned and pushed back, leading to a brief struggle before the suspect ran off.
Detectives later used surveillance footage from a nearby hotel to identify Melendez and trace his movements to a behavioral health facility near the station.
When questioned, Melendez distanced himself from the footage. He suggested the man seen on video “maybe looked like him” or was “my twin that I don’t have,” according to court documents.
Authorities took him into custody on March 24 and booked him into the King County Correctional Facility with bail set at $750,000.
Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion described the facts of the case. “The facts of this case are shocking and unquestionably demonstrate the extreme danger the defendant poses to the public,” she wrote in charging documents.
While Melendez does not have a conviction history, prosecutors pointed to prior charges that raised concerns.
In 2019, he faced allegations of stabbing his sister during a domestic dispute, though the case was later dismissed after he was found incompetent to stand trial due to schizophrenia.
Records also show a separate assault charge from 2017 that did not lead to a conviction. An outstanding warrant had remained active after Melendez failed to appear for a hearing tied to the earlier case.
A report from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services noted that Melendez “attempted to punch/attack a peer when he mistakenly thought this peer was yelling at him” in 2021. It was also stated that he had a “clear history of problems with violence” and symptoms of a major mental illness.”
His defense attorneys pushed for a mental health evaluation, due his history of schizophrenia.
“He has a prior finding of incompetence that led to a dismissal for civil commitment,” his defense lawyer told the court.
He has not yet entered a plea on the current attempted murder charge. A judge ordered a competency evaluation during his arraignment on Tuesday.
“People can change in their state of where they are, whether they’re competent or not,” a spokesperson from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said. “There’s also medication orders and other options that the court can issue.”
“Either way, what I think people wanna know is that, will prosecutors do everything they can to move the criminal case forward? And the answer is yes, absolutely,” they continued. “You don’t want to see behavior like this.”
