Man Pleads Guilty In Power Saw Attack

A man who sliced into a postal worker's chest with a power saw inside a subway station while other people fled for their lives pleaded guilty yesterday to second-degree assault.

Tareyton Williams, 34, had been charged with attempted murder and faced up to 25 years in prison for the attack on Michael Steinberg last summer. He pleaded guilty in exchange for a sentence of 18 years in prison.

Williams, of the Bronx, entered his plea after he was found mentally competent to stand trial. His lawyer, Michael Butchen, said he spoke to Williams about offering a psychiatric defense at trial and about the possible sentence if he were convicted.

Replying to state Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus, Williams admitted he tried to cut Mr. Steinberg with the power saw inside the station at 110th Street and Broadway in Manhattan around 3:30 a.m. on July 7, 2006, and intended to cause him serious harm.

The judge scheduled Williams' sentencing for April 25.

"I am satisfied that in an imperfect world, in this case, this is an appropriate sentence," the judge said.

In the attack, Williams picked up two power saws, one in each hand, and took a swipe at one person and missed, police said after his arrest. Moments later, Mr. Steinberg came through a turnstile and Williams started cutting him.

Mr. Steinberg, then 64, suffered cuts and punctures over his chest and torso, broken ribs, a punctured lung and other injuries. He was taken to a nearby hospital and recovered.

The saws came from a cart being used by workers who were upgrading the station's public address system. Mr. Steinberg said the workers made no attempt to intervene.