GOSHEN – Maleek Phillips, the 38-year-old Albany resident that threatened people on a bus traveling south on I-87, including stabbing one passenger, has been sentenced to prison, according to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler. Phillips pled guilty in court on January 3rd to the charge of attempted assault and was sentenced on March 1st to 10 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.
In September of last year, Phillips was indicted on the charge of attempted murder for the incident on the bus.
Phillips admitted in court that on August 26, 2022, he was a passenger on a commercial bus traveling from Albany to New York City. When the bus traveled through the Town of Newburgh on Interstate 87, Phillips began threatening passengers on the bus. After arguing with one victim, Phillips pulled out a knife and cut the victim on the neck and chest, causing a collapsed lung. Phillips then fled the bus and cut his own throat before he was located nearby by police with the knife still in his hand.
Applauding the sentence, Hoovler said “Whatever issues the defendant had, nothing justified this unwarranted attack on a completely innocent victim,” and added “No one expects a peaceful bus trip to turn into the violent nightmare this defendant created. Miraculously, the victim, in this case, survived the serious injuries caused by the defendant.”
