From the Daily News:Hot-tempered city councilman Hiram Monserrate was accused of slashing his girlfriend's face with broken glass Friday, leaving her with 20 stitches and a black eye.
Wearing black Adidas sweatpants, a Mets cap and a black wool jacket, the 41-year-old ex-cop from Elmhurst, Queens, looked weary as he stood before Judge Toko Sarita at his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court.
He did not speak during the brief hearing and was released on $2,500 cash bail after his lawyer, James Cullen, entered a not guilty plea.
Monserrate was charged with assault and weapons possession for allegedly attacking his girlfriend during a "boisterous argument," Queens District Attorney Scott Kessler said.
The city councilman claimed the injuries were accidental. "I brought her a glass of water, I leaned over and tripped," according to a statement read in court.
Kessler said Monserrate's girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, 29, first told hospital staff he broke a glass in his hand during a heated argument and stabbed her in the face with the shards. She later changed her story and said it was an accident."She doesn't want him to go to jail," Kessler said, adding that police found blood-soaked towels and broken glass in Monserrate's apartment. "She doesn't want protection."
But Sarita told Monserrate he cannot contact her and must stay at least 100 yards away.
Monserrate was elected to the state Senate last month and is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 1. He would automatically lose his seat if convicted of a felony.
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