A Bucks County jury convicted a Bronx couple Friday of assaulting a teenage Sesame Street worker and breaking his jaw last summer after he asked them to wear face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a three-day trial, the jury found Troy McCoy, 40, guilty of aggravated battery, simple battery, disorderly conduct, and endangering another person. His girlfriend, Shakerra Bonds, 32, was convicted of simple battery and disorderly conduct in the August incident at the Langhorne theme park.
Both were taken into custody, in lieu of a $ 15,000 bond for McCoy and a $ 25,000 bond for Bonds.
The victim, Dillon Mays, now 19, and his co-workers testified that McCoy “punched him” in the back while arguing with Bonds.
Bonds admitted during her own testimony that she, too, had punched Mays in the face moments before McCoy delivered a blow powerful enough to knock the teenager down.
The couple argued that they did so in self-defense because Mays acted aggressively, scaring their children.
The teenager’s jaw was broken in two places and he had to be wired shut after multiple surgeries.
McCoy and Bonds’ defense attorneys, Brooks Thompson and Keith McAndrews, respectively, passed the trial claiming Mays was the instigator and assailant. They said the couple had been defending themselves and their family members, gathered at Sesame Street to celebrate their son’s fourth birthday.
Thompson said McCoy attacked Mays after hearing one of her sons yell “don’t hurt mommy” and believing she was being threatened.
“Mr. McCoy didn’t mean to break this guy’s jaw,” Thompson told jurors. “He made a quick decision, acting in a split second.”
The defense also questioned the statements of the other park employees who witnessed the attack, calling them unreliable and inconsistent.
But Assistant District Attorney Alan J. Garabedian told jurors that McCoy attacked a teenage boy doing his job for “a foolish defiance of masculine ideals” and compared Bonds to “a member of the Flyers from the years 80 “for his aggressive demeanor.
“These kids were trying to do what they were supposed to do,” Garabedian said. “These kids didn’t deserve the bullshit they got from Troy McCoy and Shakerra Bonds.”
Bronx residents caught up with Mays on August 9 while taking a walk in the park. Mays testified that when he told McCoy he needed to wear a mask, McCoy scoffed and said he didn’t need to listen to the teenager because he was old enough to be his father.
Hours later, McCoy met Mays again and challenged the teenager to a fight.
Soon after, Bonds and Mays began to argue, and Mays testified that he raised his hands to put some distance between himself and Bonds.
Bonds then punched Mays in the face. Soon after, McCoy joined the fray, hitting Mays from behind.
The couple then quickly left the park, ignoring requests from security officials to provide a statement.
One of the security officers searched the couple’s license plates, which they traced to an address in the Bronx. Bonds turned himself in to police, but McCoy was arrested by sheriffs after a brief standoff.
Presiding Judge Wallace H. Batemen ordered that they be sentenced within 90 days.
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