We reported, on October 5th, on the charges against Cody Monroe Heron, the (alleged) numbskull who road raged against a delivery driver, who jumped on the trunk of her car, stomped out the rear window, showering kids in the back seat with shattered safety glass.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday afternoon they had charged Cody Monroe Heron with aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime.
by Beatrice Forman and Rodrigo Torrejón | Wednesday, October 4, 2023 | 8:16 AM EDT | Updated: 4:20 PM EDT
Philadelphia authorities say a 26-year-old man who stomped on and shattered the windshield of a woman’s car while her two children were in the back seat in a now-viral Center City assault has been charged with aggravated assault after he was arrested Tuesday night.
Police have charged Cody Monroe Heron, of the 4500 block of East Stiles Street in Frankford, for destroying the back windshield of a car being driven by a woman making deliveries for Uber Eats, with her girlfriend and their two children in tow, near City Hall on Sunday night. He also allegedly pointed a handgun at her and headbutted her with his motorcycle helmet.
With what is Mr Heron charged? As reported by Fox29’s Steve Keeley, the most serious of the charges are three counts of aggravated assault under Pennsylvania Title 18 §2702. No one was actually injured, but under section (a)(9),
attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes serious bodily injury to a child less than 13 years of age, by a person 18 years of age or older.
could be classified as a first-degree felony under section (b). Sentencing guidelines would normally be between ten and twenty years in the state penitentiary, along with a fine of up to $25,000.
Mr Keeley reported, District Attorney Krasner requested that bail for Mr Heron be set at $5,000,000, though the judge cut that in half, to $2,500,000.
The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
We also researched Mr Heron’s street, noting that his apparent living situation did not seem to be the type which would support being able to make such a huge bail amount, though whether he had family who could help with that was undisclosed. In the end, Mr Heron was not able to make bail, and requested a reduction in the amount:
An attorney for Cody Heron requested a bail reduction in the viral assault case. Instead, the judge raised it by 60%.
by Max Marin | Monday, October 16, 2023
A Philadelphia judge on Monday raised the bail of a man who police say stomped out the windshield of a car occupied by two women and two young children in Center City earlier this month.
Common Pleas Court Judge Vincent W. Furlong raised the bail of Cody M. Heron, 26, of Frankford, from $2.5 million to $4 million and cleared the way for the case against him on assault and reckless endangerment charges to move to trial.
Authorities say Heron was near City Hall on the evening of Oct. 1 with a crowd of ATV, dirt bike and motorcycle riders, when he dismounted his bike and stomped out the rear window of a burgundy Ford Fusion before pulling a gun on the driver and then head-butting her with his bike helmet. The scene, which was captured by a tourist riding a nearby double-decker bus, garnered millions of views on social media.
The driver, Nicki Bullock, 23, got out of her car and confronted the motorcyclist, who then pointed a handgun in her face. Ignoring the threat, Bullock fought back, at one point pushing the motorcyclist off his bike before he fled the scene.
If the police correctly identified the assailant — the crime was captured on a now-viral video, and his attorney has as much as conceded that his client was correctly identified — Mr Heron is both stupid and violent, and if convicted, deserves to go to prison for a long, long time. But, at least thus far, Mr Heron has been convicted of nothing, and he is legally innocent until proven guilty.
Mr Heron’s next court appearance, his formal arraignment, is scheduled for Monday, October 30th. That means, unless there is a surprise development, that Mr Heron will have spent four weeks in jail for the crime of which he has been accused, but has not actually been either tried or convicted. He couldn’t make the $2,500,000 bail, yet Judge Furlong increased the bail amount anyway, in an obvious attempt to keep Mr Heron behind bars, despite the Eighth Amendment and despite Mr Heron not having been convicted of any crime. Judge Furlong is, in effect, punishing Mr Heron in advance.
Yes, the crime was a blatant one, and it was caught on video, but it is also true that no one was injured. People were outraged by it, but public outrage is no excuse for denying Mr Heron, about whom no media reports have painted as a flight risk, the reasonable bail required by the Bill of Rights.
