STORM WATCH

Morning snow followed by deep cold in The Bronx

Suspects face judge for attack that left BX father brain dead

Two suspects charged with gang assault were in court Friday for an attack that left a Bronx father brain dead.  Families for both defendants were inside the courtroom. Police say about six people

News 12 Staff

Oct 8, 2016, 5:47 AM

Updated 2,996 days ago

Share:

Two suspects charged with gang assault were in court Friday for an attack that left a Bronx father brain dead. 
Families for both defendants were inside the courtroom.
Police say about six people were involved in a brawl that was captured on surveillance video around 4:20 a.m. Sunday in front of Parrilla Latina, a Latin-American restaurant on Broadway. 
Witnesses say the victim had some sort of argument with a woman before the attack.
It is now known that there was a birthday party at the Kingsbridge bar where the fight took place. News 12 is told that the brother of a woman celebrating her birthday turned himself in after seeing video of the fight., and that man is now one of three total charged in the incident. 
According to police, 22-year-old Jenny Gutierrez and 23-year-old Joel Hernandez are both charged with gang assault in the first and second degree. 
The defense argued that 23-year-old Hector Quezada, who was arrested and charged with gang assault earlier this week, started the fight and that Gutierrez and Hernandez were not involved. 
"The victim gets into a dispute, the victim goes down and it is Quezada a lone who engages in any kicking," the defense said. 
The victim, 36-year-old Donell Soto, was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital in critical condition. Family members tell News 12 he was pronounced brain dead on Tuesday and are now faced with a difficult decision.
Both of the defendants are first-time offenders. The judge has set their bail at $1 million and has said that both of the defendants are not allowed to come in communication with the victim or his family.