A man who screamed, “F— these people!” before slashing two subway riders at Grand Central Station Christmas Eve was sentenced to eight years in state prison, officials said Thursday.
Jason Sargeant, 29, received the promised sentence in exchange for pleading guilty to first-degree assault on April 16, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“Jason Sargeant committed a brutal attack without provocation at Grand Central on Christmas Eve,” Bragg said. “No New Yorker should fear for their safety while using New York’s subways.”
“I hope today’s prison sentence can give the victims a sense of closure as they continue to heal.”
Prior to accepting the plea deal, Sargeant faced attempted murder for the brutal, back-to-back slashings that he carried out immediately after pulling the emergency brake on an uptown No. 5 train entering the Grand Central-42nd St. subway station on Dec. 24, 2024, police and MTA officials said.
As soon as he stepped off the train, he slashed a 42-year-old man on the left wrist without warning, cops said.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Anjali Puri said the victim “was bleeding profusely on scene” and “lost a significant amount of blood.”
First responders applied a tourniquet before rushing the victim to Bellevue Hospital, where doctors feared he suffered “possible nerve damage,” Puri said.
Straphangers “appeared to be afraid” of Sargeant and steered clear of him as he fled up a flight of stairs, Puri added.
When he reached the mezzanine level and exited a turnstile, he lunged at a 26-year-old woman with his knife, punching her in the face and cutting her neck and throat, prosecutors said.
She suffered minor injuries and was also taken to Bellevue Hospital.
MTA police nabbed Sargeant in the station and found a bloody knife in his jacket’s left front pocket, authorities say.
Sargeant had been homeless for at least almost a year before the wild, unprovoked double slashing. In February 2024, he made a GoFundMe post asking for donations so he could move out of his shelter.
“I’ve been trying to get back on my feet but with limited job opportunities it’s been extremely exhausting,” he wrote in his post. “Fortunately last week I found an opportunity that can possibly help. There is a room that I can rent but I cannot afford the first months deposit.”
Sargeant was hoping to raise $1,000 but no one donated. The fundraiser has since been removed.