15 Years In Brutal Westchester Hammer And Brick Assault Mugging

YONKERS, NY — A violent attack and robbery will send a Yonkers man to prison for a long time, but his victim may never be the same.

Juan Rodriguez was sentenced as a second violent felony offender to 15 years in prison for attacking a man with a brick and hammer on a Yonkers sidewalk before robbing him in March 2021, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced today.

"Today’s lengthy prison sentence holds a violent offender accountable for his malicious attack on a victim, whose life has been permanently altered by this traumatic attack," Rocah said.

After a nearly two-week trial in February, a Westchester jury found the 38-year-old guilty of two counts of felony robbery in the first degree, felony assault in the first degree, two counts of felony criminal possession of a weapon, and felony assault in the second degree.

Rodriguez will also be subject to five years of post-release supervision after he is released from prison.

On March 1, 2021, at around 3:43 p.m., Rodriguez hid behind a tree and then approached the victim from behind and threw a brick at the back of his head as he walked on the sidewalk on Riverdale Avenue in Yonkers, causing him to fall to the ground. Rodriguez then struck the victim in the face multiple times with a hammer, stole $30 from his hand, and fled the scene.

Surveillance video captured Rodriguez picking up the brick from behind the tree and removing the hammer from his waistband as he watched the victim, whom he knew, cross the street before attacking him. The attack itself was also captured on surveillance video.

The victim was transported to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where he underwent facial reconstruction surgery, received permanent plates and screws in his face, and a mesh net to hold up his eye. The victim underwent an additional surgery to treat his injuries, and continues to suffer nerve damage, numbness, headaches, and has difficulty opening his mouth and eating, according to court records.

"When I close my eyes, all I see is the hammer coming down," the victim said in a statement read in court. "Just to think about it sends shivers down my spine... I wish I never had to go through this."

The Yonkers Police Department arrested Rodriguez on April 14, 2021.