A 39-year-old white man has been accused of brutally attacking an older Black man with a wooden two-by-four just steps from his home.
Brandon Watt has been charged with felony second-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. According to police, his daughter was with him at the time of the assault.
Police were called to Johnny White’s residence in the village of Newark in the Finger Lakes region of New York state on June 23.
They arrived to find a severely injured 70-year-old man. He suffered a broken eye socket, a broken nose, deep lacerations, and swelling to his face. Injuries to his ears were so severe that he required stitches.
‘Senseless Attack’
One of his daughters, Jewel Perkins, expressed anguish over the senseless attack to local news outlet 10NBC: “He did not deserve this. He will give you the shirt off his back. He goes to work every day. He loves his animals. He loves his wife — they’ve been married more than 20 years. He’s lived in Newark for 18 years, and nothing like this has ever happened to my father.”
White was rushed to the emergency department of a local hospital, where family and friends rallied around him. He is currently in stable condition. Police said on June 25 that he had been taken off sedation and was able to speak with investigators. But he faces a long road to full recovery.
His daughter, Giavanna White Principio, told the outlet, “I saw him laying in that bed, and I just, it just didn’t look real to be honest.”
Both Principio and Perkins have taken turns staying overnight at the hospital to be with him.
Investigation Continues
According to his daughters, Watt had been harassing their father for weeks leading up to the attack. White reportedly told investigators that Watt used racial slurs while telling him he was going to “kick his —-.”
According to Newark Police Department Chief Agustin Gonzalez, this is not being investigated as a hate crime at this time. But the investigation has just begun.
Watt was booked in Wayne County, New York, on June 23. Police are now reviewing video evidence of the assault and interviewing witnesses as they work to determine what led to the attack, and whether that classification could change.
