The deranged man caught on camera stalking a group of musicians through Times Square with a knife was granted supervised release by a Manhattan judge on Thursday evening.
Prosecutors recommended the release of 22-year-old Deqon Massiah. He was charged with menacing, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon, which are not bail eligible.
The judge agreed to release the suspect but said that the “highest level of monitoring is appropriate.”
Massiah appeared in court wearing the same red shirt with the word “sly” on the back that he had donned when an alert photographer snapped his photo Wednesday.
The suspect was clutching a blade as he snuck up behind the performers at the Crossroads of the World.
At one point he put his left hand on the shoulder of a member of the unsuspecting troupe while holding the knife in his right hand.
The moment was captured by the attention of photographer Richard Moore.
Moore, who began snapping pics, told The Post he first spotted the unhinged suspect standing on a granite bench flashing the weapon and screaming on Broadway between West 43rd and 44th streets around 10 a.m.
Moore’s photos show Massiah holding the six-inch blade as he walked up behind the performer.
“I thought, ‘Oh, this isn’t very good,” Moore said Wednesday.
“I noticed he had this knife in one hand and he got close enough to one of the musicians to put his other hand on the musician’s shoulder.”
Massiah retreated back to the bench but Moore felt it prudent to call 911.
Cops showed up 12 minutes later, came up behind the maniac and took him into custody.
During his arrest, prosecutors said Massiah told the officers, ”Get the f– off me, they were coming after us.”
Massiah has no criminal history in New York, but is on probation for a sex offender case in Georgia.
