SEPTEMBER 22, 2026—A notorious subway recidivist who was convicted of two counts of assault on our Sister Conductor was sentenced today in Bronx Supreme Criminal Court to six years in prison—one year short of the maximum.
The Conductor, 37-year-old Lynette Pierce, had been kind enough to reopen the doors for Isaiah Thompson when she saw him running up the stairs at the Morrison Ave.-Soundview station on June 10, 2025. Thompson suddenly turned on Pierce after she made the customary announcement to stand clear of the closing doors, prosecutors said at his trial.
Thompson then traveled two stops to Whitlock Ave., got off the train and grabbed the Conductor through the cab window, slashing her with a sharp object.
Pierce, although shaken, spoke to press after the sentencing, explaining that she had wanted to be a New York City Transit Conductor since she was a teen.
“I worked this hard to get this job,” said Pierce. “And all of that was taken from me because of a coward who consistently attacks women. To be slapped on the wrist with six years is an insult, and by a judge who is a female—I’m disgusted.”
Pierce appealed to the public to recognize that transit workers are everyday New Yorkers.
“I need everyone to understand that we are human beings behind that patch,” said Pierce. “The same person that’s walking around with a backpack and a hoodie on is the same person who is operating the train.”
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