Four of the crazed motorcyclists caught on video brutally beating a Columbia grad in front of his terrified wife and infant daughter in 2013 took plea deals Wednesday in Manhattan court.
Craig Wright, James Kuehne and Kaliq Douglas copped to felony assault and riot in exchange for two years in prison and three years post-release supervision.
They all admitted in Manhattan Supreme Court to having struck victim Alexian Lien during the violent melee in Washington Heights Sept 29, 2013.
Clint Caldwell – who played a more minor role – also copped to felony assault and riot in exchange for 1 year in prison. He reached his hand into the victim’s car but did not hit or kick him, prosecutors said.
So far 8 of the 11 bikers charged in the wild mob attack have taken deals.
Defendants Christopher Cruz, Allen Edwards, Edwin Rodriguez and Jason Brown previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the biker beat down. But Cruz, Edwards and Rodriguez were not accused of directly injuring Lien.
The notorious incident erupted after Lien’s SUV bumped into a biker’s ride near 125th Street in Harlem. A swarm of dozens of bikers surrounded Lien and as he sped off he ran over one of them, Edward Mieses, paralyzing him from the waist down.
The biker gang, which included off-duty undercover cop Wojciech Braszczok, was captured on video chasing down the panicked father for more than 50 blocks, yanking him from his SUV and viciously pummeling him on West 178th Street.
Braszczok’s defense lawyer John Arlia has insisted that his client did nothing wrong and intends to fight the charges at trial.