Syracuse, NY - A Cicero man is facing up to one year in jail after being convicted in connection with a one-punch assault a year ago that has left the victim permanently disabled. Assistant District Attorney Maggie Welch today said a DeWitt town jury deliberated about 45 minutes last Wednesday before finding Leonard J. Zappala II guilty of third-degree assault....
Syracuse, NY - A Cicero man is facing up to one year in jail after being convicted in connection with a one-punch assault a year ago that has left the victim permanently disabled.
Assistant District Attorney Maggie Welch today said a DeWitt town jury deliberated about 45 minutes last Wednesday before finding Leonard J. Zappala II guilty of third-degree assault.
Zappala, 32, of 6134 Smith Road, was accused of punching Richard Prall once in the face in the parking lot outside McShane’s Restaurant and Pub on Kinne Street in DeWitt March 10, 2009. Authorities said Prall, 55, of West Monroe, suffered severe head injuries when he fell back and struck his head on the pavement, knocking him unconscious.
Welch said doctors initially thought Prall would not survive his injuries, which included a couple of skull fractures. But he did survive, requiring the wearing of a helmet and 24-hour care for a time, she said. While Prall is able to walk again, he is permanently disabled as a result of the incident, the prosecutor said.
According to Welch, Prall and his family had been at the bar that night after attending a wake for his father-in-law who died two days earlier. The prosecutor said Zappala touched off a confrontation when he came in with some friends.
Prall was trying to pull his son out of that confrontation when he was punched and knocked to the ground, the prosecutor said.
Despite the severity of Prall’s injuries, Zappala only faced a misdemeanor assault charge because of the one-punch nature of the incident, Welch said. The maximum penalty is one year in jail.
Sentencing by DeWitt Judge Robert Jokl is set for Sept. 22.