By: Jerome Brookshire

A homeless man accused of violently assaulting a 94-year-old former physician outside an Apple store on Manhattan’s Upper East Side is being held on $8, 000 bail, according to court records and a report on Saturday in The New York Post.

Authorities say Lewis Reynolds, 31, was arrested Friday, three days after he allegedly sucker-punched the elderly victim – identified only as Moshe – outside the Madison Avenue Apple store near East 74 th Street. The alleged assault, which occurred Tuesday afternoon, sent the retired doctor tumbling inside the store’s vestibule and left him with a visible facial injury.

During his overnight arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court early Saturday, Reynolds pleaded not guilty to charges of second- and third-degree assault. Dressed in a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants, the defendant appeared disheveled and agitated, rocking back and forth as his Legal Aid Society attorney described him as someone who “leads a law-abiding life” through gig work, including DoorDash deliveries and construction jobs.

The defense insisted Reynolds had “a stable residence,” but acknowledged he had never stayed at the Queens homeless shelter listed for him. The New York Post reported that Judge Valentina Morales, noting Reynolds’ “limited ties” to New York City and family connections in California, determined he posed “somewhat of a flight risk” and set bail accordingly.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The New York Post, Moshe recounted the moments before the unprovoked attack. He and his 78-year-old girlfriend, Evelia, had been inside the Apple store purchasing a new Apple Watch when they noticed commotion near the entrance.

“We were in[the store]for a long time, and then we went to leave and… there was some ruckus going on. Somebody was doing something to somebody else,” Moshe recalled.

The couple paused near the store’s vestibule, hoping the disturbance would subside. Instead, Moshe said, Reynolds emerged suddenly and struck him hard in the face.

“[Evelia]immediately ran after him, and in the meantime, I was falling,” Moshe told The New York Post. The impact left him with a pronounced bruise under his left cheekbone. Despite offers of medical attention, he declined treatment at the scene.

While Moshe did not sustain life-threatening injuries, the emotional impact has been significant. He told The New York Post that the incident left him shaken and uncertain about his safety in public spaces.

“Subconsciously, I’m still living the experience because it was traumatic, and finding myself unable to react the way that I would have liked to… is kind of depressing,” he said. “Hopefully in days and weeks I will recover completely, but I’m still under that feeling of insecurity, that maybe if I walked on the street, this may happen again to me or to somebody else.”

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, the attack took place after Reynolds allegedly confronted other customers inside the store before turning his aggression toward Moshe.

Reynolds remains in custody pending further court proceedings. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has not disclosed whether surveillance footage from the Apple store will be introduced as evidence.

The incident has sparked renewed conversation about public safety and the vulnerability of elderly residents in New York City – particularly in light of recent high-profile assaults on seniors in public spaces, as The New York Post has frequently reported.

Reynolds could face a prison sentence of up to seven years under New York State law.