A teen thug allegedly admitted to police that he knew he “was guilty” of slashing a Queens mom of three on her way to work after cops showed him a surveillance video of the vicious attack, according to prosecutors.
Luis Emmanuel Valencia Ponce, 18, allegedly aired the stunning admission of guilt to detectives after police showed him footage of Lisette Ramales being stabbed at an East Elmhurst bus stop on Monday morning, Assistant District Attorney Isabelle Dudek told the courtroom during his arraignment at Queens Criminal Court late Thursday.
“If I’m being honest with you, I don’t remember running towards her, but I do remember running after her,” Ponce allegedly told investigators.
“Seeing the footage, knowing how it looked, I knew I was guilty,” the teen replied to the detective when asked if he remembered stabbing Ramales in the unprovoked attack.
Ponce also allegedly admitted to cops that he was attempting to flee the country after he was stopped by Port Authority police at JFK Airport just 5 hours after the slashing.
He was allegedly trying to catch a flight to Peru without appearing to have a boarding pass or ticket.
“You’re saying you’re guilty with what you did, right? Do you think that’s the reason why you tried to leave from JFK, you were trying to flee from what you did?” a detective reportedly asked Ponce.
Ponce then allegedly replied, “Yes, sir.”
The alleged knife-wielding teen remained reserved and briefly glanced at his father and defense attorney in the courtroom as Dudek recounted the details of how the attack unfolded.
Ponce was held without bail on an attempted murder charge at his arraignment. His father declined to comment.
Ramales, a 29-year-old mother of three was on her way to work when Ponce allegedly walked up behind her and stabbed her at a bus stop and stabbed her — leaving her with a punctured lung and four stab wounds that required several stitches.
“The complainant was walking to a bus stop… on the way to cross the street… somebody came up behind her and repeatedly stabbed her in the back,” Dudek said.
“She is very fearful after this incident, and she is fearful of the defendant,” the prosecutor maintained.
Ramales remained hospitalized on Thursday, telling The Post earlier from her hospital bed that Ponce “didn’t say anything,” after the random slashing.
Ponce’s defense attorney, Michelle Minkin, argued to Judge Maria Gonzalez that the teen, who has no arrest record, should be released to seek medical help.
“I believe he was not in his right state of mind,” Minkin told the courtroom. “My client received medical psychiatric attention shortly following the allegations in this case.”
“I believe that he would benefit from treatment and other supportive services, and I’m asking for your honor to give him the opportunity to engage in those services… His father is here, he will ensure he meets his appointments.”
The judge, though, in deciding to remand Ponce into custody noted, “the negative factors outweigh the positive” in the case.
The teen will return to court on March 24.
Read the full article here
