A 45-year-old Piffard man is facing a felony assault charge after deputies say he struck another person over the head with a glass bottle during a fight outside an establishment on Main Street in Piffard on Halloween night. Joshua Costa was also accused of punching a second victim in the face, according to the Livingston County Sheriff's Office.
The Livingston County Sheriff's Office reported that a Piffard man faced a felony assault charge after allegedly striking another person with a glass bottle during a fight involving multiple people on Halloween night, as detailed in a post from the Livingston County Sheriff's Office. Accounts differ on exactly when deputies arrived. The Daily News reports deputies responded at about 11:15 p.m. on Oct. 31 to Main Street in Piffard for a reported physical fight outside an establishment involving multiple people, while 13WHAM reported deputies responded at 11:37 p.m. Saturday for a report of a fight outside an establishment in York involving multiple people.
Allegations of a Bottle Attack and a Punch
Sheriff Tom Dougherty said Costa struck another patron over the head with a glass bottle, injuring the victim's head and face, and punched another victim in the face, per the station's report. Costa was charged with assault and harassment following the altercation. The Daily News identifies the assault charge specifically as second-degree assault, a Class D felony, along with a second-degree harassment charge.
Dougherty said Costa was taken to the Livingston County Jail and held without bail due to two prior felony convictions, the same account notes. Before that, Costa was turned over to central booking deputies at the Livingston County Jail for arrest processing and pre-arraignment detention, according to The Daily News.
Arraignment and Custody Without Bail
Costa was arraigned at the Livingston County Central Arraignment Part at the Livingston County Jail, The Daily News reports. Town of Springwater Justice Christine Johnson remanded Costa to the sheriff's custody without bail, citing his two prior felony convictions. The Livingston County Public Defender's Office represented Costa at the arraignment, while the Livingston County District Attorney's Office was present for the proceeding.
New York's penal law classifies assault in the second degree as a Class D felony, according to the New York State Senate. The statute includes language covering specific circumstances, such as intent to prevent or obstruct a process server and causing physical injury to that process server, though the publicly available excerpt does not specify which subsection applies to the charge against Costa.
