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On Tuesday, 37-year-old homeless man Marquis Ventura pleaded guilty to the 2020 assault of Rick Moranis, the 69-year-old actor best known for his role as Louis Tully in the Ghostbusters franchise.
According to the New York Post, in October 2020, Marquis Ventura attacked several individuals in New York City, including Moranis, who was reportedly punched while walking through Central Park West.
In connection with the alleged crimes, Ventura confessed to six charges, including assault and petty theft. He is also accused of stealing a bottle of champagne from a Soho liquor store.
AP reported that Autumn Levine, the attorney representing Ventura, told the court that the defendant was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. His sentencing will commence on August 23.
The alleged assaults of Rick Moranis and other New Yorkers
According to the Guardian, Rick Moranis was one of many victims subjected to assault in the alleged crime spree of Marquis Ventura, in what the New York City Police Department referred to as a series of "unprovoked" attacks.
In a statement released by Moranis' spokesperson, it was revealed that the actor was not seriously hurt after the assault. The statement read:
“He is fine but grateful for everyone’s thoughts and well wishes”
The NYPD also released an official statement concerning the assault, stating that,
"The victim suffered from pain to the head, back, and right hip and traveled by private means to an area hospital for evaluation."
While Rick Moranis and his team gave no further statement, The Guardian reported that many Hollywood mainstays expressed their anger at the attack, such as Marvel star Chris Evans.
On a Twitter post, Evans wrote:
“My blood is boiling. Find this man. You don’t touch Rick Moranis.”
As the NYPD launched an investigation into the assault, the then 35-year-old suspect, Marquis Ventura, was arrested. Following this, he was linked to a petty crime spree just hours after Rick Moranis was attacked. The NYPD soon reported that,
"(The suspect had the) intent to cause serious physical injury to (one) another person."
At his initial arraignment in 2020, prosecutors accused him of assaulting a liquor store owner in Soho. Prosecutors said:
“The defendant threw the bottle at the store owner and then proceeded to repeatedly punch him above the head."
Ventura was also linked to the assault of a customer in a Soho Bodega and the attacks of two other men in Greenwich Village and the Bronx. Prosecutors also revealed that he had been arrested on at least 13 other occasions.
