Three New York City fur vendors charged
with tossing bleach on protesters
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[December 30, 2014]
(Reuters) - Three New York City fur
vendors have been charged with throwing a mixture of bleach and ammonia
from the roof of a Manhattan building onto anti-fur protesters and
pedestrians on the street below, authorities said on Monday.
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The incident occurred on a crowded street in Manhattan's SoHo
neighborhood during the late afternoon of Dec. 20, when at least
four people and a baby stroller were hit by the chemical mixture in
an area crowded with holiday shoppers, police said. There were no
reports of injuries.
According to a criminal complaint, a New York police officer saw
liquid raining down from a six-story building onto a sidewalk filled
with about a dozen anti-fur protesters and passersby near where fur
coats were being sold.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Dec/30/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_062409.png) The officer entered the building and encountered two men in the
stairwell holding bags that smelled of bleach, the complaint said.
On the roof of the building, police found empty bottles of bleach
and ammonia, the complaint added.
David Haber, 53, Luis Justino, 40, and Lawrence Andrews, 35 were
arrested shortly after the bottles were discovered and charged with
reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and harassment, authorities
said.
A YouTube video shot by the anti-fur protesters showed liquid
dousing people on the sidewalk. The group said in the video the fur
vendors were seeking to blame them for the attack.
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Justino's lawyer told the New York Times his client was innocent.
Attorneys for the other two men could not be reached for comment.
The three are out on bail, records show.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Seattle; Editing by Dan Whitcomb
and Peter Cooney)
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