Man in race-tinged incident angered by dismissal of assault charges

Wearing a neck brace and leaning on a cane, Darryl Jackson insisted Friday that he was an innocent crime victim in a racially tinged altercation outside a Roosevelt delicatessen - no matter what a grand jury has decided.

Jackson and his attorney, Fred Brewington of Hempstead, denied nearly every major conclusion reached by the authorities investigating what happened outside the Midway Deli the morning of March 8 between Jackson and the four men. They reportedly shouted anti-black racial slurs, but a grand jury ruled they committed no hate crime - or any crime at all.

"What proof did they need?" Jackson said. "For me to be dead?"

According to prosecutors, Jackson initially told investigators that race had nothing to do with the altercation, but Brewington said his client didn't say that. He added that racism motivated the four men.

Prosecutors say Jackson, 52, has sustained no medically diagnosable injuries other than a small cut on his head; Brewington said his client is in inpatient rehabilitation suffering numbness, neurological troubles, weakness in the limbs, difficulty walking and dizzy spells.

"Of course, we don't know what happened in the grand jury - what was presented or what was not presented," Brewington said. Grand jury presentations are secret.

Brewington said he now intends to ask federal prosecutors to consider charging the four men - Juan Nuñez, 32, of Freeport, an eight-year New York police officer who was off duty; Jose Miguel Vargas, 35, of Freeport; and Persio Vargas, 53, and Kelvin Vargas, 23, both of the Bronx - with violating Jackson's civil rights.

For their part, the men say Jackson was panhandling and threw the first punch - all of which Jackson denies.

Jackson, who testified before the panel, said he was beaten without provocation by "modern-day gangsters." The grand jury's decision not to indict the men, he said, felt "like a slap in the face."

"I feel like I'm a victim twice. I really can't believe it." Jackson said. "It's like a nightmare all over again."