A man accused of trying to murder his father told investigators he punched the elderly victim as many as a dozen times after breaking into a Staten Island home, court documents show.
“If I had to count, I hit him somewhere between eight and twelve times,” Albert Duka told detectives after he was arrested Wednesday.
Duka, 33, pleaded not guilty at his trial on Friday to charges of attempted murder, assault and burglary for the attack that left his 62-year-old father, Adzi Duka, with a fractured skull and bleeding ears.
It was unclear what triggered Duka’s violent attack on his father.
Judge John McPadden ordered the defendant held on $300,000 bond or $700,000 bond, according to the Richmond County DA’s office.
The younger Duka broke down the door – causing the frame to crack and splinter – by one Scott Ave. home near Quintard St. in Arrochar and repeatedly punched his father in the face shortly after 9pm on Wednesday, police said.
The attack caused the suspect’s father to fall to the ground where his son continued to beat him, as his head repeatedly hit the floor, court documents show.
At one point, the defendant screamed and chased relatives, who took cover behind a door the suspect tried but failed to knock down, according to documents.
“I broke down the door to the house but couldn’t get through the other door,” Albert Duka told detectives.
Medics rushed the victim to Staten Island University Hospital North where he was initially reported in critical condition.