Gloved beast who sucker punched his victim whined that he ‘blacked out’ during the unprovoked attack
A convicted sex offender who is accused of brutally sucker punching a man in an unprovoked attack has whined that he shouldn’t be behind bars – because his victim is still alive.
Jesus Cortes, 52, was left with a fractured skull and a brain bleed after the attack by Bui Van Phu, 55, in the Bronx on August 12.
Phu was initially freed without bail after the terrifying assault was caught on video, but was then thrown in jail after Gov. Hochul urged prosecutors to upgrade charges against him.
Horrifying surveillance video captures the moment Phu put on a pair of gloves and swung with great force, hitting the victim in the back of the head.
He then immediately falls to the floor, appearing to be unconscious, banging his head on the concrete after the sudden attack.
The NYPD claim that he ‘without prior conversation or altercation’ punched the victim in the face, before ‘returning back into the restaurant and later to parts unknown’.
Phu whined to the New York Post that he couldn’t remember anything about the attack, saying he ‘blacked out.’
He said: ‘He’s alive. He’s not dead. I thank God he survived. I didn’t want to hurt him that bad. I just hit him once.
Bui Van Phu, 55, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, but the DA later filed misdemeanor charges. He has now whined that he shouldn’t be in jail because Mr Cortes survived the attack
Jesus Cortes, 52, (left) suffered a a fractured skull and a brain bleed after the attack by Bui Van Phu, 55, (right) earlier this year
‘I can’t really remember anything. I was so mad,.I’ve never done anything like that before. That was my first time.
‘I’m not a violent person. I’m not like that. I wouldn’t do it again. I’m sorry. I know I did something wrong. That’s why I turned myself in.
‘The judge told me don’t talk to him and stay away from him but If I could see him, I’d apologize and tell him I’m sorry. If he wants me to pay the medical, I don’t mind paying his medical (bills).’
Bui was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, but the district attorney’s office later caused outrage when it only filed misdemeanor charges.
The DA’s office defended itself by claiming it is ‘still investigating’ the shocking attack.
Bui was called an ‘imminent threat to the community’ at a parole hearing Saturday after New York Governor Kathy Hochul had ordered him back in jail.
His parole officer, Nixa Rivera, spoke at his hearing: ‘Mr. Bui is a 55-year-old male with a persistent violent felony offender history.
Phu was convicted of attempted robbery in 1991 and is a registered sex offender – who was out on parole after being convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl at gunpoint on December 24, 1994. He was released from prison in March 2019
He was allowed to walk straight out of Bronx Criminal Court on supervised release without bail, after appearing before a judge where he was arraigned on third-degree assault, and second-degree harassment
‘Mr. Bui is a registered level three sex offender, the highest level on the sexual offender registry. Mr. Bui continues to be an imminent threat to the community.’
Rivera added that Bui has been living in a shelter for six years and has no apparent family or ties to the community.
His only job has been working the cash register at a nail salon for the past two years.
Alison Lowy, the Legal Aid Society attorney assigned to Bui, said that public pressure should not have made his charges more serious.
She added: ‘When this incident happened, the defendant called his parole officer and she told him to turn himself in, and he did.’
However, Rivera said that his criminal charges are likely to be elevated to felonies regardless.
Judge Lumarie Maldonado Cruz has ordered Bui to remain behind bars without bail ahead of a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
Shortly before the attack Phu positions himself behind his victim, before raining down a vicious blow in front of a group of other people outside of the restaurant
Phu was called an ‘imminent threat to the community’ at a parole hearing Saturday after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered him back in jail
Cortes’s brother Juan Cortes told DailyMail.com that his brother is recovering and has been taken off a ventilator
Juan Cortes called Bui an ‘evil person’ and said the felony charges should’ve been there from the start.
Court records obtained by DailyMail.com indicate the lesser charges were laid because Bui ‘intentionally (caused) physical injury and with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person.’
Bui was convicted of attempted robbery in 1991 and is a registered sex offender – who was out on parole after being convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl at gunpoint on Christmas Eve, 1994. He was released from prison in March 2019
In horrifying footage released by the NYPD, Bui is seen walking out of the Fuego Tipico restaurant in the Bronx and pulling on a pair of gloves.
He is then seen punching the victim with great force in the back of the head. The victim was found unconscious and unresponsive on the ground after the unprovoked attack and was rushed to the hospital.
In a conversation with Bui’s parole officer, documented by the court, he recounts the incident: ‘I’m in trouble. I hit someone and he’s in the hospital.
‘I don’t know if he’s dead. The police are looking for me. I was at the restaurant and I know the police are looking for me.’