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| Hatem Farsakh |
(Scroll down for video) Three men were arrested and charged with assault related charges after they allegedly beat a tourist with a tire iron in New York City, according to court proceedings.
Now, one of the three men, who was set to go on trial for beating the tourist with an iron bar in Greenwich Village in January, has gone missing, and authorities think he's trying to flee from the United States in order to escape justice.
Hatem Farsakh did not show up in court for his pretrial hearings, claiming a family emergency, and the court has issued arrest warrants against him.
"We do not know where he is. His parents do not know where he is," his attorney, James Kirshner, said.
"I think he's still in the United States because when I call his cell phone number there is a regular ring," he added.
The trial will go ahead without the 24-year-old, with opening statements starting on Monday morning.
"His trial will begin without him, and, of course, the jury will be properly instructed," Supreme Court Judge Edward McLaughlin said.
The police said Farsakh, Sherif Rizk, 22, and Mahmoud Habib, 30, all of Brooklyn, brutally beat Kevin McCarron of Andover, Massachusetts.
Farsakh and Rizk told police that the fight began after McCarron yelled racist insults at them.