A Manhattan judge sentenced 35-year-old Robert Ray to seven years in prison Thursday for punching MTA station agent Tamika Davis in the face at the 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue subway station, then fleeing the scene — a crime made worse, prosecutors and union officials say, by a second unprovoked attack Ray launched on a correction officer while awaiting trial. Davis was left with facial swelling, a gash, and pain from the assault. Ray pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was sentenced in Manhattan Supreme Court to the seven-year term plus five years of probation upon release.
The attack unfolded around 6:05 a.m. in September 2024, according to court documents cited by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which detailed how Ray followed Davis as she checked escalators and walked toward a bathroom before running up and striking her in the face from behind without warning. As New York Daily News reporter Leonard Greene noted, Davis urged the NYPD to put more police officers in subways and on platforms in the wake of the assault.
New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said justice was delivered for Davis, according to the same account. Davis, for her part, said Ray deserved more than seven years behind bars — a sentiment that echoes the maximum penalty available under state law for the crime.
A Second Attack Behind Bars
While held without bail at Rikers Island awaiting trial, Ray attacked a city correction officer from behind without warning, knocking her unconscious and causing serious injuries that required emergency surgery. The officer was taken to a local hospital following the assault. Corrections1 reported the victim was 38-year-old Shamika Mitchell, a 12-year veteran officer who was attacked from behind in a mess hall at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center, an assault that fractured her eye socket, per Corrections1…