An unhinged homeless man with a history of hitting strangers said he punched a 9-year-old girl in Grand Central Terminal because he was “thirsty,” Manhattan prosecutors revealed Monday.
Jean Carlos Zarzuela, 30, who was free without bail after a similar attack at the landmark Midtown transportation hub, was ordered locked up on $100,000 bail at his Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment Monday. Judge Melissa Lewis also ordered him to submit to a psychiatric evaluation.
“I hit the girl because I was thirsty. Maybe I hit her in the face by accident,” Zarzuela said of the Saturday morning incident at Grand Central, according to prosecutors. Police caught up with him hours later in the 125th St.-Lexington Ave. subway station.
Zarzuela had been arrested less than two weeks earlier for randomly punching a 56-year-old woman in the face, leaving her eye so swollen she had trouble opening it. MTA officials said Sunday the punch broke the woman’s nose.
He was arraigned on misdemeanor assault and other charges on April 4 and initially held on $2,500 cash bail or $10,000 bond — but Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Laurie Peterson cut him loose without bail after his return appearance on April 9.
His release was required by state law after MTA cops and prosecutors couldn’t get a supporting deposition from either the MTA police detective or the victim to the court within five days of his arrest.
“The people and police were not able to secure paperwork for (the law)… and the defendant was released on his own recognizance on April 9,” Assistant D.A. Shara Safer said Monday.
It’s not clear what led to the missed deadline.
Zarzuela still faces charges from a 2023 incident in which he repeatedly hit yet another stranger in the face, the prosecutor said.
He returns to court on Friday. His lawyer, Gideon Oliver, declined to comment.
