Police say Mamadou Diallo, 61, killed a man who intruded into their Bronx, New York apartment Monday evening.
The New York City husband arrested after police say he killed his wife's would-be rapist has had his charges reduced.
While Mamadou Diallo's case was gainining widespread media coverage — much of it from people who see him as a hero — the 61-year-old saw his initial charge of mansalughter reduced to a lesser assault charge.
Prosecutors warned that Diallo could face additional charges should the investigation warrant them, but Diallo's supporters were calling the arraignment a victory on Tuesday as they cheered Diallo on.
“This was an attack on his family under extreme circumstances,” Diallo's defense attorney, Anthony Michaels, said in Bronx Criminal Court on Tuesday.
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Prosecutors chose not to ask for a specific bond amount and asked the judge to decide at his discretion.
After he was arraigned on charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon, a judge released the livery driver on his own recognizance. He's due back in court June 27.
According to authorities, Diallo's wife was in their Bronx apartment when a man police identified as 43-year-old Earl Nash knocked on the door.
When Diallo's wife answered, she told police Nash rushed in and began to forcibly rip off her clothes.
The victim struggled away from her attacker and was able to call Diallo using a cell phone, the NYPD said.
Diallo, who was outside the building at the time of the alleged attack, re-entered and soon confronted Nash in a hallway, police said.
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Diallo then "assaulted the perpetrator to the point where he was removed to the hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries" according to an NYPD release.
Diallo was arrested by NYPD and charged with manslaughter, which has since been reduced.
Meanwhile, Diallo's family members have spoken out in his defense. His son, Abdul, told CBS New York his father did what any husband would have done.
"I think any husband would do the same thing as what he did," Abdul said. "You see your wife being attacked and sexually harassed, you're going to beat on the person. You are not just going to sit there and let the person leave or whatever. So I don't think he's wrong."
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