Suspect who stabbed MTA conductor in court as transit workers demand action

NEW YORK – Transportation workers filled the Manhattan courtroom Friday as the suspect in the stabbing of MTA conductor Myron Pollack went on trial.

Pollack, 64, was just three months away from retirement when he was attacked at the Utica Avenue Station in Crown Heights.

According to police, the suspect, 27-year-old Jonathan Davalos, has a history of violent crimes and has been charged with attempted second-degree murder.

RELATED: MTA train conductor stabbed multiple times in Brooklyn subway: NYPD

Pollack, who has served the MTA for more than 25 years, is currently recovering at Kings County Hospital after suffering multiple stab wounds to the chest, stomach and leg. The attack occurred after Pollack asked Davalos to get off the train at the final stop.

On Friday, Pollack’s colleagues in public transit called for policy changes and said they feared for their own safety.

“We are so grateful that Mr. Pollack’s will to live was greater than this criminal’s will to kill him. Because I think we should be clear that his intent was to murder him,” said Kathryn Falasca, an MTA criminal defense attorney.

Davalos has a history of violence with 14 previous arrests, including slashing a woman’s shoulder in 2021 and beating another MTA conductor in 2020. Despite these offenses, Davalos was on probation until 2028 at the time of the attack.

Now union leaders and public transit workers are demanding increased safety measures from the MTA.

“We need police officers, we need MTA police in the places where these trains need to be cleaned,” said Canella Gomez, vice president of Rapid Transit Operations (RTO).