DeWitt, NY - Sue Prall told a DeWitt judge Wednesday she missed her father’s funeral last year because she was at a local hospital waiting to hear if her husband was going to die from severe head injuries suffered in a one-punch assault the night before. Prall also described for the judge how her husband spent the next eight days...
DeWitt, NY - Sue Prall told a DeWitt judge Wednesday she missed her father’s funeral last year because she was at a local hospital waiting to hear if her husband was going to die from severe head injuries suffered in a one-punch assault the night before.
Prall also described for the judge how her husband spent the next eight days in a coma and how she ended up caring for him like a baby for months after that March 2009 assault.
Prall and her husband, Richard, were in DeWitt Town Court Wednesday evening for the sentencing of the man found responsible for causing those injuries in that assault.
DeWitt Town Justice Robert Jokl sentenced Leonard J. Zappala II to the maximum penalty of one year in the Onondaga County Correctional Facility at the request of Assistant District Attorney Maggie Welch.
Welch said today she thought that sentence provided some measure of closure to the Pralls even if a one-year jail sentence didn’t seem to amount to real justice under the circumstances.
Zappala, 32, of 6134 Smith Road, Cicero, maintained his innocence as he stood before Jokl for sentencing, Welch said. Defense lawyer Robert Durr asked the judge to sentence Zappala to a “shock” combination of probation and some jail time.
Welch said Jokl admitted he was considering a “shock” sentence until he realized the maximum amount of jail time he could impose would only be 60 days. The judge said he did not think that was sufficient punishment, the prosecutor said.
In sentencing Zappala to the maximum one-year punishment, Jokl admitted even that didn’t seem like enough jail time, Welch said.
A DeWitt town court jury convicted Zappala in July of a misdemeanor count of third-degree assault in connection with allegations he punched Richard Prall once in the face in the parking lot outside McShane’s Restaurant and Pub on Kinne Street on March 10, 2009.
The victim, 55, of West Monroe, suffered severe head injuries when he fell and struck his head on the pavement. Welch said doctors initially thought he would not survive his injuries, which included skull fractures.
Richard Prall is permanently disabled as a result of the incident, Welch said. He recently underwent more surgery and there currently is no end in sight for the medical care being provided by a team of doctors, the prosecutor said.
The victim spoke briefly in court Wednesday about how he used to be able to coach football and how he now finds himself forgetting what he’s doing when he’s in the middle of things he’s always done, like changing the oil on a motor vehicle, Welch said.
Welch said the family had been at the bar after attending a wake for Sue Prall’s father, who had died two days earlier. The family had gone there to be together after the wake because they did not want to disturb the widow, who was home ill, the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor contended Zappala touched off a confrontation when he came to the bar and Prall ended up injured while trying to pull his son out of that confrontation.
Welch said Sue Prall told Jokl the family paid about $7,000 of the more than $200,000 in medical bills. The rest was covered by insurance.
In sentencing Zappala, Jokl ordered him to pay restitution with the amount to be determined at a later hearing, Welch said.