Crime & Safety
Ex-Anthrax Singer Dan Nelson Arrested In Attack Of Man, 74
A 74-year-old was beaten in a bloody attack inside the Aloft New York LaGuardia Airport hotel. Dan Nelson, of Long Island, was charged.
LEVITTOWN, NY — Dan Nelson, a Levittown native and ousted singer for the popular metal thrash band Anthrax, has been arrested on a felony assault charge in connection with a bloody attack on a 74-year-old man inside a Queens hotel.
Nelson, 43, of Southberry Lane, was arrested around 8 a.m. Wednesday at the 115th precinct building in Jackson Heights. He was charged with assault, assault with intent to cause physical injury and harassment, a spokeswoman with the NYPD told Patch.
Nelson is accused of attacking a 74-year-old man Aug. 30 inside the Aloft New York LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens.
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Around 11 p.m. that night, police responded to an assault in which the victim was treated for minor injuries. The attacker took off after the assault on foot, police said.
A family member of one of the men with the victim told Patch the 74-year-old is an artist himself and got himself into trouble when he asked Nelson a question. The person asked that they not be named out of fear of retaliation. The victim stands about 5-foot-3 and has a heart condition, the person said. When one of them said something to Nelson, he reacted, the person said.
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"He just goes bananas," the person said. "He knocked the old guy down."
The victim had been at the hotel to watch a friend who was playing the drums that night, the person said. Nelson appeared off that night, taking a long time even to tune his guitar, the person said.
Anthrax has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, three times in the 1990s and three more between 2012 and 2014. Nelson became the lead singer of the band in 2007 and sued the group for $2.65 million when was kicked out in 2009. Nelson and the band settled in 2012 for an undisclosed amount of money, according to news reports.
When the case was settled, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello told the New York Post, "I've got to put a Band-Aid on my tongue from biting it so much."
Patch left a message with Nelson's attorney Thursday and will update when we hear back.
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