BREAKING: No Murder Charge For Man Involved In Deadly Bedford L Brawl

via NY Daily News

Gothamist reports that police have charged Ryan Beauchamp with attempted assault (a misdemeanor) and harassment (a violation), not murder, for his involvement in last Friday’s deadly Bedford L station brawl. A misdemeanor carries a maximum of 1 year of jail time, while a violation is up to 15 days. Beauchamp has priors, including an Occupy Wall Street arrest in October and an earlier arrest in Connecticut.

This is the latest development after police first released a sketch, then a video, and then took Beauchamp in for questioning on Tuesday. As of yesterday afternoon one of the “WANTED” fliers still hung in the 1st Avenue L station.

With these charges come new details about the incident and Beauchamp’s background. While initial reports made it seem that both men were to blame and later accounts said Beauchamp was at fault, new witness accounts say Basin initiated the fight after Beauchamp bumped into him. One witness says “there was a point when it was over and Basin followed him.”

Beauchamp is 33-years-old, homeless, and originally from Westchester.

Basin’s funeral is this morning in Howard Beach.