Queens man indicted in alleged parking-space assault

Indicted on assault charges Monday, a Queens man accused of knocking a woman into a coma over a parking space in the East Village continued to claim self-defense outside court.

“She hit first,” Oscar Fuller, 35, told reporters after he was indicted in Manhattan Supreme Court for second-degree felony assault against Lana Rosas, 25, of the Bronx.

Police say the Feb. 25 incident began when Rosas was standing along E. 14th Street holding a parking space for her boyfriend. Fuller, who wanted to park in the spot, got out of his car and they began arguing.

After she started punching him, Fuller said, he struck her in the head. Prosecutors say Rosas, who weighs 50 pounds lighter than her alleged attacker, hit the ground and Fuller fled the scene.

“To the family, I am very, very sorry for the situation that she’s going through right now and I’m hoping for a speedy recovery,” said Fuller, a father of two.

He remains free on $100,000 bail, but must go back to court on April 7. His attorney, Thomas Kenniff, expects his client to plead not guilty.

“He had no knowledge that she suffered those types of injuries,” Kenniff said.

Rosas, meanwhile, remains in Bellevue Hospital, where her condition is life threatening because of excessive brain swelling, prosecutors said.

(With Reuters)