Mother Of Teen Driver Who Allegedly Killed Ariel Russo Says Cops Abused Son In Most Recent Arrest
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A grand jury is reviewing the evidence against 18-year-old Franklin Reyes charged over the weekend after driving without a license and dragging a police officer who pulled him over.
Franklin Reyes Jr., 18, was charged with assault, reckless endangerment, unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, reckless driving and unlicensed driving, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said.
Mother Of Teen Driver Who Allegedly Killed Ariel Russo, Says Cops Abused Son In Most Recent Arrest
The criminal complaint alleges Reyes abandoned the car and tried to run from police. It also says he began kicking his arms and legs, resisting arrest.
But Reyes' mother, Lilia Reyes, says that's not the whole story.
"I can tell you that there's been brutality, those three policemen that beat up on my son, they are psychopaths themselves," she said. "They threw him on the floor, they looked for a deserted area, isolated, and they abused my son," his mother told 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa.
This is not the first time Lilia has spoken about about the incident. On August 6, she was escorted out of court after making an outburst in which she begged for mercy for her son, who is accused of fatally running down 4-year-old Ariel Russo while fleeing from police on the Upper West Side.
As CBS 2's Steve Langford reported, the emotional scene came after the judge increased bail for Franklin Reyes, 18, and set a trial date, postponing, at the very least, a plea deal that would have reduced his maximum prison sentence to four years and eventually expunged the conviction from his record.
"He's innocent. He's a kid," said the mother, Lilia Reyes.
"Have mercy. He was only 17. Have mercy on him please."
Paolo Russo, Ariel's paternal grandfather, said the child was being walked to school when the accident happened around 8:20 a.m. at 97th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The driver lost control of the Nissan SUV while making a left turn, police said.
The SUV jumped the curb and struck Russo and her 58-year-old grandmother, pinning them against the gate of a closed restaurant, 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported
As CBS 2's Lou Young reported, Sofia Russo remained in a state of shock Wednesday after learning that the teen driver who allegedly killed her 4-year-old daughter, Ariel, in June of last year had been arrested yet again on accusations of driving without a license.
"I was in denial," Sofia Russo said. "I didn't want to believe that it was true."
Reyes' attorney will not put him before the grand jury in his latest arrest.
For now, Reyes remains behind bars as bail was revoked in the case of Russo's death.
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