By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A teen who admitted stabbing two men to death on the 2 train in self defense was released from Rikers Island on Saturday, where he had been held on bail since his arrest within days of the stabbings.
On Friday, a grand jury chose not to indict Brenddy Garcia, 19, for murder, apparently believing he was simply acting in self defense.
"I'm a monster, right?" Garcia said to the New York Post sarcastically moments after his release on Saturday.
Garcia went home to a celebration with family and friends at his home in Brownsville.
Garcia had told prosecutors that he stabbed Darnell Morel and Ricardo Williams, both 24, on the Brooklyn-bound train on March 28 after they smashed a beer bottle on his head.
Garcia's lawyer said the teen was armed with a knife only because he'd nearly died twice before in public attacks.
He was jumped and stabbed 25 to 30 times in Bushwick, in 2007, and had been badly beaten and robbed on a subway one year prior, his lawyer said.
Garcia "only started carrying a knife after this happened to him," said his lawyer Lawrence Fredella, who accused Morel, Williams and their friends of "looking for trouble," when they boarded after 3 a.m.
The investigation revealed Morel, Williams and the rest of their crew were drinking in a midtown bar and tried steal beer from a Duane Reade before getting on the train, according to information released by the Manhattan District Attorney.
There, they encountered Garcia and his four friends and harassed a homeless man and single woman before moving on to their next targets — Garcia and his friends.
Garcia said the crew of 10 drunk and rowdy mostly men taunted him and his friends on the train.
When he was cracked in the head with a beer bottle, the attackers pulled his jacket over his head, leaving him blind and defenseless, Garcia's lawyer said.
He then pulled out his knife with no other recourse.
"He's swinging wildly in defense of his life," Fredella said. "This was all after he was being completely pummelled."
Garcia's friends — Franklin Varella, 21, of Inwood, and Diogenes Hernandez, 21, of Queens — were never charged due to insufficient evidence, law enforcement sources said.
Garcia who had no prior criminal history, faced 25 years to life in prison if indicted and convicted of the murder charges.
His family, Fredella said, is obviously relieved, but also sorry for the families of the two victims.
"Brenddy never intended for this to happen," Fredella said. "He is not a violent guy and he did not intend to kill anyone."
