Evan Sachs pleads not guilty to attempted murder

Evan Sachs of Merrick pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly stabbing an 8-year-old boy five times in the back inside a Dave & Buster’s restaurant in Westbury on Oct. 8.

Just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 19, Sachs, 23, entered the Nassau County Courthouse escorted by police officers and accompanied by his Bellmore-based attorney, Eric Sachs, to plead his case before Judge Jerald Carter. His mother, Randi Sachs, cried as she watched from the back of the courtroom as her son was arraigned.

Court adjourned after 20 minutes. Evan Sachs is due back in court on Dec. 7.

After the arraignment, his attorney fielded questions and acknowledged that his client, a Calhoun High School graduate, kept a note in his pocket on the day of the alleged attack.

Eric Sachs said the note said nothing about wanting to kill the boy, but rather “something along the lines of ‘don’t blame other people for me.’”

The attorney also denied allegations of premeditation. “I still haven’t seen anything about premeditation,” said Eric Sachs. “I haven’t seen anything yet to this day that shows that he was trolling around, that this was a planned attack.”

In addition, the attorney said that he plans to present a “psychiatric defense,” noting that his client was on several medications at the time of the incident.

“There will be a psychiatric defense,” he said “He is on medication, he was on medication, and there was a change of medication prior to this.”

The attorney said that while Evan Sachs is “not denying that this happened,” he is remorseful.

“He is extremely remorseful,” Eric Sachs said. “It’s always the first thing that he asks, ‘How is this young man?’ That’s all he asks all the time.”

The attorney added, “We are very glad to hear that the young man is doing well. It’s a very tragic case. Everyone is sorry that this has happened. But we’re going to move forward, and we’re going to deal with the case how it has to be dealt with.”

A spokesperson for the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office could not be reached at press time.

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