NYC Church Volunteer Slashed by Career Criminal

A career criminal with a rap sheet longer than most rap albums is back on the streets after slashing a church volunteer inside a Manhattan house of worship—and a soft-on-crime judge ignored prosecutors’ pleas to keep him locked up, officials confirmed Monday.

Frank Fernandez, 64, a homeless repeat offender with 20 prior arrests, allegedly attacked a 63-year-old volunteer janitor at St. Catherine of Siena Church on the Upper East Side Saturday evening, slicing the man’s arm with a boxcutter after being denied access to a bathroom.

“This wasn’t just a random outburst. This man has a record—and the system just rolled out the red carpet for him,” one NYPD officer told our reporters under condition of anonymity.

It was just before 7 p.m. when Fernandez tried to force his way into the restroom. The church, located on East 68th Street between First and York Avenues, was minutes from closing. The custodian, who was mopping up and preparing to lock the doors, calmly told Fernandez he wasn’t allowed inside—especially since Fernandez had already been banned from the church for prior disruptions, according to the criminal complaint.

That’s when Fernandez, well-known to local law enforcement, snapped.

“He pulled a boxcutter out of nowhere and slashed the man’s arm. He could’ve hit an artery,” said a church member familiar with the incident. “And then he just stood there. No remorse.”

The victim, who has not been named publicly, refused medical attention but immediately flagged down police officers nearby. They arrested Fernandez without further incident.

Despite Fernandez being hit with felony and misdemeanor assault charges, plus burglary, Manhattan prosecutors pleaded with the court to hold him on $30,000 cash or a $90,000 bond.

But liberal Judge Ariel Chester shot that request down and granted supervised release—a controversial policy that critics say turns New York’s justice system into a revolving door.

“What’s the point of making an arrest if the judge is going to hand him a free pass hours later?” said NYPD union rep Mike O’Reilly. “This guy has 20 priors. Twenty. He should not be anywhere near a church, let alone free on the streets.”

In a bizarre twist, a parish priest at St. Catherine’s hinted the church may not want to pursue charges, claiming the victim and Fernandez “knew each other.”

“It’s a difficult situation,” the priest told the New York Post. “Forgiveness is central to our faith.”

Critics say that attitude is noble but naive.

“Forgiveness is one thing. Letting a violent offender loose in a sanctuary is another,” said Upper East Side resident and Trump supporter Jeanette Dawson. “This is why people are fleeing New York in droves. President Trump is right—we need to take our cities back.”

Fernandez’s long arrest history is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Biden-era policies New York is still recovering from. Though President Trump has pushed for nationwide bail reform rollbacks and increased federal oversight of major crime zones, cities like New York continue to follow radical local policies that critics say embolden criminals.

“Judges like Ariel Chester are a symptom of a broken system that favors offenders over victims,” said legal analyst Heather Shields. “It’s exactly what Trump warned about in 2020, and it’s still happening in 2025.”

Fernandez currently has no open cases in Manhattan—because judges keep closing them, police sources say.

With rising crime in NYC’s churches, synagogues, and mosques, faith leaders are demanding more protections.

“We can’t even clean our churches without fearing for our safety,” said a clergy member who declined to be named. “This is madness.”

The volunteer is reportedly back at work but shaken. Fernandez, meanwhile, is free, unsupervised, and unrepentant.

“If this isn’t the definition of injustice,” said one parishioner, “I don’t know what is.”