NYC subway cellist attacker arrested again and finally held on bail after boasting ‘I thought they’d let me go’
The woman who walked free after allegedly whacking a subway cellist with a bottle was busted on shoplifting charges — with the same judge setting a paltry $500 bail this time.
Amira Hunter, 23, was busted for allegedly shoplifting a $325 Moncler baseball cap from a Midtown Nordstrom at around 3:40 p.m. Tuesday despite boasting to police “I thought they would let me go,” prosecutors said Wednesday.
Hunter’s release came just days after she was released without bail by Judge Marva Brown for hitting cellist Iain S. Forrest in the head while he performed in Herald Square subway station on Feb. 19.
Brown ordered Hunter held on $500 bond on Wednesday, shrugging off a $10,000 bail request from prosecutors, who said Hunter was a “fugitive” when she stole the pricey cap around 3:40 p.m.
“The defendant time and time again commits crimes of harm to identifiable people and property. For this reason, the people request that the court set bail,” the prosecutor said.
Hunter’s attorney, Joseph Conza, requested no bail because Hunter’s petit larceny charge in itself isn’t bail eligible, he said.
Brown made her bail determination after examining Hunter’s criminal history “including the fact that Ms. Hunter was here in this very courtroom on Feb. 29, 2024,” Brown told the courtroom.
Hunter was busted for the Nordstrom theft after a witness called 911 to report the alleged crime, authorities said.
That arrest came less than one week after Hunter was nabbed for allegedly bashing Forrest in the head with a metal water bottle.
Brown cut Hunter loose at her arraignment the following day – despite the prosecutor pointing out that she had failed to appear to three of her five court days in other, unrelated criminal cases.
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of the subway cellist attacker
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- NYC subway cellist who was struck in the head quits station performances, calls for protection for musicians
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- NYC subway cellist attacker arrested again for allegedly stealing pricey baseball cap
At the time of her arrest last week, Hunter had a bench warrant out for her arrest in two petit larceny cases, the Manhattan DA’s Office said.
She was arrested in October last year on grand larceny charges for supposedly stealing two bathing suits worth $2,050 from Bergdorf Goodman, sources said.
Hunter, of Brooklyn, was also arrested twice for assaulting her mother in 2019, according to police sources — including one clash where she hit her mom in the neck with a can of Raid.
Hunter’s mother told police in 2021 her daughter had a history of mental illness and had not been taking her medication, according to police sources.
In total Hunter has been involved in over two dozen domestic violence incidents, including two where she was the victim, according to police sources.
Hunter alleged a man sliced her in the face and right hand with a blade in October 2023.
Most of the other domestic violence orders stem from Hunter violating an order of protection against her mom after the 2019 physical assaults, sources said.
Despite Hunter’s criminal history, Brown let Hunter walk on supervised release over the subway crime – even though Brown could have set bail because the assault charge for the cello incident was a violent felony.
New York City Transit Commissioner Michael Kemper referred on NY1 Wednesday to Hunter’s new arrest as an example of what Mayor Eric Adams called the city’s “recidivism problem.”
“This woman had…active bench warrants for failing to report to court,” Kemper pointed out.
“The judge released her…against the prosecutor’s wishes,” he said.
Forrest – who is an MD-PhD student at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine – decided to stop performing for commuters after the brutal assault.
The incident marked the second time he was injured while playing his cello in the past year alone, the 29-year-old explained on social media.
“I love performing for you all in the subway, but I’m at my breaking point and can’t take more injury or harm,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
Forrest did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Hunter’s next court date is set for March 11.