Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Janice Robinson released a 19-year-old accused of attempted assault on $5,000 bail in early August — overruling prosecutors who demanded he be held without bail. Less than five weeks later, the accused was arrested again for another attack near New York City’s West Indian Day Parade.
Nayshawn Wilkinson was arrested Tuesday and is facing a new attempted assault charge stemming from a Monday afternoon incident near Nostrand Avenue and St. Johns Place in Brooklyn, along the route of the annual parade. Police say a 24-year-old man was attacked. The victim was hospitalized and is expected to survive. Wilkinson was taken into custody, and a firearm was recovered, according to authorities.
The arrest came less than five weeks after Wilkinson was released in an earlier attempted assault case.
Wilkinson was arrested in July after allegedly firing a weapon twice at a 15-year-old boy near the Callahan-Kelly Playground in Brownsville, according to the criminal complaint cited by the New York Post. The teenager was struck in the foot and required surgery, while prosecutors said a .22-caliber bullet fragment was recovered from the wound. Wilkinson was charged with attempted assault, assault, and weapons offenses.
Prosecutors asked Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Janice Robinson to remand Wilkinson without bail. Instead, Robinson set bail at $5,000 cash or a $10,000 bond on August 4.
Wilkinson posted the bail and was released.
On Tuesday, Wilkinson was scheduled to appear in court for proceedings in that earlier case, but was already in police custody over the new incident.
The case has renewed scrutiny of Judge Robinson, who moved from Brooklyn’s civil court to the criminal bench and has faced criticism over a series of low- or no-bail decisions. A review by the Post of 13 defendants who recently appeared before Robinson found that eight were released without bail, including two defendants facing attempted assault charges. In the five remaining cases, bail was set below the amounts prosecutors had requested.
In one of those cases, prosecutors sought $150,000 bail for Adrian Benitez, who was accused of attempted assault after allegedly opening fire during a dispute. A stray bullet allegedly struck a seven-year-old service dog belonging to a woman with Down syndrome. Robinson released Benitez without bail, according to the Post.
Under New York law, bail decisions generally focus on whether conditions are necessary to ensure that a defendant returns to court. Courts historically have not been permitted to simply detain someone because they believe the person is dangerous to the community, although subsequent reforms have expanded the circumstances in which bail can be imposed and require judges to consider certain factors, including prior firearm use.
That framework has long been a subject of debate in New York. A 2025 state Senate bill seeking to allow judges to explicitly consider whether defendants pose a physical threat to victims or the public remained active, reflecting continuing disagreement over the proper role of public safety in bail determinations.
Meanwhile, Monday’s violence around the West Indian Day Parade was not contained to an isolated incident. At least three people were attacked in separate incidents around the parade route, while several others were stabbed or slashed during the day’s festivities. The NYPD had deployed thousands of officers and implemented enhanced security measures, including checkpoints and restrictions on bags.
The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.
