Frank R. James, charged with shooting 10 people last April in one of the worst New York subway attacks in recent years, is expected to plead guilty to terrorism in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday afternoon, according to court documents .
Mr James, 63, had initially entered a not guilty plea, but his court-appointed lawyers from the Federal Defenders of New York said last month he would plead guilty to an 11-count charge that charged him with 10 counts of terrorist attack – one for each of the 10 people hit in the subway shooting — and with a firearm load, too.
He risks a life sentence.
Lawyers for Mr. James did not respond to messages on Monday.
During the morning rush hour last April 12, authorities said, Mr. James opened fire on an N train in Brooklyn.
No one was killed, but the attack sparked a 31-hour manhunt that unnerved New Yorkers as police scoured the city for Mr. James. Police finally seized him in Manhattan’s East Village after several people – including Mr. James himself – called the police tip to report his whereabouts.
The shooting, which came as subway spending began to rise after a sharp decline during the pandemic, once again underscored the fragility of the transportation system and New Yorkers’ concerns about crime and safety. It also put a spotlight on the city’s mental health gap.
New York Mental Illness Policy
After a series of high-profile crimes involving homeless New Yorkers, the city said it would take aggressive action.
Mr. James, who has been held in a Brooklyn prison near the subway station where the attack took place since his arrest, has a history of mental illness, according to his lawyers.
He grew up in the Bronx but had grown largely detached from his family, moving to a number of cities but never settling there, including Philadelphia, Newark, Chicago and Milwaukee. He had a history of arrests in New York and New Jersey.
In the weeks leading up to the shooting, Mr. James had posted belligerent videos on social media, ranting about the city’s subway system and its approach to crime. But according to authorities, there was no clear motive for the subway attack.
Mr. James, according to authorities, reserved and paid for a U-Haul van in Philadelphia the week before the attack, drove into Brooklyn that day before dawn and parked there before entering the subway system.
According to surveillance footage, on the day of the shooting, a man wearing a mask and an orange vest threw two smoke bombs into a train car before shooting at passengers.
In the ensuing chaos, the gunman fled but left a number of items on the train, including a gun, ammunition, bank cards and a key to the U-Haul, according to court documents.
In November, the lawyers of Mr. James requested that his trial be moved outside of New York, possibly to Illinois, on the grounds that he would not receive a fair trial in Brooklyn.
Also that month, Mr. James missed a scheduled trial, angering the judge overseeing the case.
“This is not an invitation to a prom,” Judge William F. Kuntz told the court. “It’s not up to him if he chooses to be here.”
Judge Kuntz cited the incident in an order he posted last week authorizing U.S. Marshals to “use all necessary force to bring Mr. James to court on Tuesday should he refuse to appear.
Rebecca Davis O’Brien reporting contributed.