Recently in Other Felonies Category

The New York Daily News reported that a "boozed-up bigot" attacked Muslim cab driver Ahmed Sharif in the throat, lip, arm and hand with a pocket knife. He was treated at Bellevue Hospital and released with minor injuries.

Alleged attacker Michael Enright, 21, was captured after attempting to flee and sent to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and was arraigned on Wednesday. That raises an interesting question, though: Will his New York criminal attorney attempt an insanity defense?

Many might argue that bigotry of any kind is a form of insanity, although that may not fly in a court of law. Michael Enright was charged with felony attempted murder, which will be tried as a hate crime.

A 40-year-old woman wanted for attempted murder and weapons charges was arrested in the Bronx over the weekend, according to the New York Daily News. She was once featured on "America's Most Wanted" and has been a fugitive for 15 years.

Patty Carrion, who at first told police her name was Yesima Hernandez, was arraigned last Monday and is being held at Rikers Island. It wasn't clear whether or not she had retained the services of a New York criminal attorney.

Steven Slater became an Internet sensation overnight after he left his job as a JetBlue flight attendant in the most dramatic way possible. The flight attendant burst into rage on Monday when an airline passenger was being rude on Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh to New York. The Huffington post reports that when the plane was taxiing to the gate at JFK Airport, Steven Slater kindly said into the intercom "To the passenger who just called me a motherf***er, f*** you. I've been in this business 28 years, and I've had it."

The flight attendant then grabbed a beer off of the beverage cart and made his grand exit by activating the emergency chutes and sliding off the plane.

Foxy Brown was arrested about two weeks ago for violating a protective order and faces charges of public lewdness, harassment, and criminal contempt in connection with an incident in which she got into a dispute with her neighbor. Yet New York Daily News reports that this isn't the only legal trouble that the rapper could be facing.

After another fight broke out last week in a Manhattan apartment building, Foxy Brown could be facing even more criminal charges. It looks like a New York criminal defense attorney will have to come to her rescue if she wants to avoid jail.

In the wake of the Massachusetts suicide of Phoebe Prince, New York criminal defense attorneys are dealing with a cyberbullying suicide in their very own back yard. And for New York criminal defense lawyers, "computer crimes" might be an area of law gaining fast prominence ever since Phoebe Prince's suicide made national headlines.

Alexis Pilkington, 17, of West Islip, apparently committed suicide on March 21. The police department in Suffolk County is now investigating the case, determining whether Alexis Pilkington was another Phoebe Prince-- driven to suicide after incessant taunting.

At this stage, police are looking into Formspring.me, a social networking website, to determine if cyberbullying was a factor in her suicide. According to news sources, Alexis received harassing messages through the website. 

David Letterman's nemesis has pleaded guilty, with his New York criminal defense attorney by his side at a Manhattan court on Tuesday.

And no, we're not talking about Jay Leno.

The man, Robert "Joe" Halderman, was a producer at CBS who allegedly blackmailed and attempted to extort $2 million dollars from David Letterman by threatening to reveal Letterman's marital indiscretions.

Halderman, who initially pleaded not guilty to charges of grand larceny, admitted to the court that he attempted to extort $2 million from Letterman back in September of 2009.  Outside of the courtroom, Halderman made a public apology to Letterman, Letterman's family, and to the woman at the center of the scandal.

Last year, the Manhattan District Attorney's office indicted Halderman on charges of grand larceny and extortion.  Under New York Law, larceny, which is essentially theft, becomes "grand larceny" when the amount in question exceeds $1,000.

The first person to be convicted of sex trafficking under the New York Sex Trafficking statute, has been sentenced. The New York Daily News reports that David Brown, 32, was sentenced to 25 years to life for buying a young woman and forcing her to have sex with other men for his own profit.

Mr. Brown bought the 19-year-old victim for $2,000 from an ex-girlfriend. He then prostituted the victim to 30 men in a twelve day period. The North County Gazette reported that the victim was held against her will, threatened with death, and constantly watched to make sure that she did not escape the apartment which served as her prison.

Mr. Brown found some of his male customers through Craigslist. On the website, he posted nude pictures of the victim and marketed her as a sex slave. When the men did pay her, between $60 to $200, Mr. Brown took the money.

A New York man was charged with interfering with a flight crew when he attempted to open an airplane's exterior door while in the air. The flight from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas, NV, was grounded in Denver after Gregory Thomas Burns, 33, tried to open the outside door and then the cockpit door.

The Huffington Post reports that Burns could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his actions. As an explanation, Burns admits that he was far from sober during the flight.

A former New York city police officer was sentenced to 5 years of jail time and 5 years of probation after he held a school superintendent against his will. Peter Cocker, 37, went to the South Orangetown Middle School with a gun and burst into Dr. Kenneth Mitchell's office. It is believed that Cocker held Mitchell hostage because he was disappointed in how the school was handling swine flu information.

LoHud reports that Cocker's charges included "first-degree criminal use of a firearm, second-degree burglary, third-degree burglary, first degree coercion and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon." He could have faced a maximum of 25 years in jail; however, after pleading guilty to second-degree kidnapping, Cocker was sentenced to a reduced term as part of his plea agreement.

Gypsy Porfirio, 34, has a slew of charges following the tragic accident that left one person in stable condition, Siclari, and the other, Kelley, has sadly passed away.

Daniel Kelley, 23, was jogging with Gina Siclari, 18, when they were hit by Porfirio who had taken "three different types of prescription pills less than an hour before she 'blacked out' and slammed into Kelley and Miss Siclari" (SI Live).

The article goes on to say that as of Wednesday, she was charged with "drug possession, assault, vehicular assault, and two counts of driving while impaired."

After the passing of one of her alleged victims, many are wondering if her charges will go up to include vehicular manslaughter. While it has not been added yet, I researched the New York Penal Code to see if the description could fit this crime.