The unhinged man accused of randomly shoving a straphanger to his death in front of an East Harlem train has a troubled past, including a history of mental illness and a lengthy rap sheet, law-enforcement sources said Tuesday.
Carlton McPherson, 24, of the Bronx, had a warrant out for his arrest in an open Brooklyn assault case at the time of Monday’s chilling attack at the East 125th Street and Lexington Avenue station — when cops say he pushed a 54-year-old man onto the tracks.
A northbound 4 train rolling into the station at around 7 p.m. was unable to stop in time, and fatally struck the man, whose name had not been released pending family notification.
McPherson was arrested and charged with murder on Monday.
His most recent arrest before that was in January after he was accused of spitting on a woman on an L train, though that case was sealed, meaning the charges may have been dropped, according to the sources.
Sources said he was busted Nov. 15 for allegedly jumping the turnstile at a Brooklyn subway station – a quality-of-life offense that the NYPD just announced it would crack down on, claiming the move curbs far more violent crimes.
His open case is from just weeks earlier, on Halloween, when McPherson was busted in Brooklyn for allegedly using a cane to hit a man on his leg – and then his face – after the victim’s tried and failed to calm his “erratic” behavior, the sources said.
He was charged with assault and initially released without monetary bail at his Nov. 2 arraignment – but apparently violated the terms of his supervised release and had a bench warrant issued Nov. 13, online records show.
McPherson was subsequently ordered held on $1,000 cash bail and $2,000 bond during a January court appearance, which he apparently posted, according to the records.
His next court date in that case is July 26.
Police have responded to at least two “emotionally disturbed person” incidents allegedly involving McPherson over the past two years, according to the sources.
Last April, McPherson – who was speaking incoherently – allegedly ran past security at Yankee Stadium into an area that is not open to the public, claiming that he wanted to watch the game even though no one was playing at the time, sources said.
In June of 2022, he became irate when his grandmother told him to do something with his clothing – prompting him to toss his garments down the incinerator, according to the sources.
When cops arrived, McPherson – who has bipolar disorder and was off his medication, according to his grandmother – was sitting on the roof landing in the stairwell and refused to speak with cops, the sources said.
Back in 2016, McPherson was the subject of a “domestic incident report,” involving failure to bring a male child to visit his mother, who had a legal visitation order, according to the sources said.
His rap sheet also includes arrests for shoplifting and burglary, including on Sept. 30 when he was allegedly busted rifling through items in an office at the Aqueduct Racetrack, sources said.
An officer confronted him and pepper-sprayed him — but that didn’t stop McPherson from allegedly heading up to the roof, jumping down to the lower roof and injuring his right leg, possibly breaking it, according to sources.
Earlier in September, he allegedly lifted his sweater and flashed an imitation gun in the elevator of a Brooklyn Macy’s, alarming another person riding inside, the sources said.
And on Sept. 2, he allegedly snatched $100 from the cash register from a Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn business, according to the sources.
In late June, he was nabbed for allegedly shoplifting nearly $1,300 worth of items from the Kings Plaza Shopping Center, the sources said.
His Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment in connection to the subway shove was pending Tuesday.
