PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A judge in Bucks County has ordered a New York couple to stand trial on charges of beating up a Sesame Place employee on Aug. 9. The ruling was made despite conflicting testimony Thursday at a preliminary hearing in Levittown.
Two prosecution witnesses were clearly not on the same page.
One, a co-worker of the 17-year-old ride operator, told District Justice John Kelly, Jr. that 39-year-old Troy McCoy jumped a fence and sucker punched the teen from one side as he was being shoved from in front by 31-year-old Shakerra Bonds.
She went on to say that McCoy dropped to the ground and put him in a headlock.
But the ride operator testified it was the other way around: Bonds threw the punch that left him unconscious with a broken jaw and no memory of what happened afterward.
She faces multiple charges including simple assault, while McCoy faces the more serious charge of aggravated assault.
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Keith McAndrews, the attorney representing Bonds, contends his client is innocent and that the victim set the confrontation in motion.
“If you look at the criminal complaint, he’s acknowledging that he initiated physical contact in this case,” said McAndrews. “He denied it on the stand, so the stories were changing even in the courtroom with these witnesses.”
McAndrews contends that the victim shoved his client first and the two Bronx natives then defended themselves.
Testimony also revealed that the incident was preceded by a confrontation earlier in the day at another location in the park.
According to the teenaged victim, he reminded McCoy to wear his face mask. McCoy, he said, refused, saying he was old enough to be his father, then threatened him physically.