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Homeless Man Stabs Brooklyn Library Patron for Watching Porn: Cops

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on May 21, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Authorities are scratching their heads this week in response to a bizarre attack at the Brooklyn Heights Library in New York. Ralph Neptune, a 46-year-old homeless man, is accused of attacking a fellow library patron for allegedly watching porn.

Neptune walked up to Ransom Alton, 52, on Tuesday evening and accused him of watching a racy video on a library computer. He then whipped out a knife and stabbed Alton in the neck and chest.

He's expected to recover.

Nonetheless, Ralph Neptune has been charged with assault, criminal weapon possession and menacing, according to CBS. He's currently being held at a local hospital for observation. This suggests that law enforcement believes that he suffers from some sort of mental illness.

Ransom Alton told the New York Daily News that a filter program makes it impossible to watch porn on a library computer. And even if is possible, computers have privacy screens. Neptune would have had to be in his personal space to see what he was looking at.

He says he was looking for a job.

This isn't the first time Neptune has been in trouble with the law. He has 10 prior arrests, and according to the Daily News, they include felony assault, possession of a firearm and robbery.

These priors will undoubtedly have some effect on how prosecutors handle Ralph Neptune's case. With a history of violent offenses and weapons charges, they simply can't let him go. If found to be mentally incompetent, he'll be sent to a local psychiatric facility. Otherwise, he will probably face prosecution and time behind bars.

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