NEW YORK – Women accused of beating a hostess at a Manhattan restaurant in September were indicted on assault charges Tuesday as court documents provided some details about the controversial case that sparked reports of racism and a police cover-up.
The women, Kaeita Rankin, Tyonnie Rankin and Sally Lewis, face multiple counts of battery, as well as one count of stalking, in the Sept. 16 incident at Carmine’s on the Upper West Side that sparked a firestorm of allegations. The indictment documents allege that the three women grabbed the woman by the arms and hair before striking her in the face, neck and shoulder.
One of the women grabbed the 24-year-old worker by a necklace and broke it, causing lacerations to her neck, court documents read. The woman was left with scratches and bruises after the incident. She was hospitalized and later released.
All three defendants were released on parole. The next court date was scheduled for November 18.
The entire incident was allegedly due to a dispute that arose over the city’s vaccine mandate for restaurants and other businesses. The women accused of the assault were vaccinated, the restaurant said after the event, and showed their vaccination cards.
A second part of his group did the same, and all were ushered inside to sit at a table.
But a third group that was also part of the party did not show any proof of vaccination and, as a result, were not allowed in, Carmine’s said. The restaurant said the women went out again in an effort to convince managers to let their friends in.
At this point, the surveillance video shows the hostess, an Asian woman who appears agitated, who was later beaten. A co-worker can be seen on video driving her away, and shortly afterwards the vaccinated members of the group re-enter the restaurant, briefly passing the hostess.
The women seem to be agitated by something that happened or was said, and suddenly they turn to run outside, where they face the hostess from behind, and the fight ensues.
Justin Moore, the attorney for the Houston, Texas women’s group, said his clients are in fact vaccinated and provided the necessary proof of this. But the fight was never about that, and it started only after a woman started yelling racial slurs, Moore said.
“The epithet was the N word and this host called one of the women cute,” Moore said.
Moore said the notion that the fight over vaccination status was started is “completely false and that the narrative has been used to criminalize these women and try to help Carmine and this host save their image in light of their Bad acts”.
After the lawyer raised the accusations of racism, protests took place in front of the restaurant, urging others not to dine there.
The video has no audio, so it will not help answer what the hostess did or did not say to the group of women at the time in the hall. There were no witnesses other than the hostess and the women.
Carmine’s said the women never mentioned racial slurs in their complaints at the time, and said in a statement that the women’s group was causing their attorney to “falsely and grossly misrepresent their acts of wanton violence in a cynical attempt to try to excuse it. inexcusable”.
The restaurant maintains that the fight was “completely unprovoked … because none of our hosts, all of whom are people of people, ever uttered such an insult.”
New York City’s rule requiring proof of vaccination for indoor restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues has been in effect since Aug. 17, but only began to apply on Sept. 13.
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