A jury convicted a 35-year-old electrician from Queens today of punching a woman in the face and leaving her in a coma following a dispute over a parking space on East 14th Street.

Oscar Fuller could face up to a year in prison for the brutal blow on Feb. 25 of last year, but he avoided the more serious charge of felony assault. The verdict hinged on the perception that the victim, Lana Rosas, was knocked into a week-long coma as a result of her head striking the pavement — not the punch to the face, according to The New York Post.

“This was a brutal and unjustified act of rage,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in a statement. “That a petty argument over a parking space could escalate into physical violence is shameful.” Read more…

Grace Maalouf During an appearance at Manhattan Criminal Court, a Queens man pleaded not guilty to charges that he punched a woman during a dispute over a parking space in the East Village.

A Queens man who punched a woman in the face in a dispute about an East Village parking spot pleaded not guilty today to a felony charge of second-degree assault.

Oscar Fuller, arrested March 1 for the Feb. 25 incident which left Lana Rosas, 25, hospitalized in a coma, has maintained that the act was one of self-defense, and told reporters in March that surveillance footage would back up his claims.

Prosecutors today presented one security tape as pre-trial discovery, calling it a “very grainy video” taken from a great distance. Thomas Kenniff, Mr. Fuller’s lawyer, told The Local that though he hasn’t seen the footage, he has a “fairly good idea” based on his conversations with the prosecutor and his own investigator of what it would show. Mr. Kenniff has said that Ms. Rosas started the altercation.
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