Two Delco men charged in West Chester assault case
WEST CHESTER » Two Delaware County men were arrested Thursday by borough police and charged with an allegedly unprovoked attack on three men outside a restaurant that left two of the trio with serious injuries.
The men – Joseph Deldeo and Zachary Myers – were identified after police released surveillance camera photos of the pair following the assault. None of the men knew the alleged victims in the attack, according to police.
Deldeo and Myers were arraigned Thursday by Magisterial District Judge Bret Binder, who set their bail at $25,000 unsecured. Binder said he took into account the fact that the men turned themselves in to police and that the arresting officer, Ryan Donkin, had no objection to the bail being unsecured.
Binder cautioned both men, however, that they were prohibited from having any contact with any of the alleged victims or going to the Landmark Americana restaurant. The assault occurred outside. “I expect no issues from either one of you,” while awaiting a preliminary hearing set for June 1. “I won’t be so lenient moving forward.”
Deldeo, 21, of Linwood, was charged with first-degree aggravated assault, riot, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct, harassment, and conspiracy. He told Binder that he works as a heating and air conditioning technician at a Chester company, and that he had no prior criminal record.
Myers, also 21, of Garnet Valley, was charged with second-degree felony robbery, simple assault, riot, and harassment. He told Binder that he worked in Delaware as a shop foreman.
Both were accompanied by attorneys and members of their families.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Donkin, police were called to the 50 block of North Darlington Street shortly after midnight on Sunday, May 6, for the report of an assault with injuries. When Donkin arrived, he found two men, identified as William McNett and Kyle Leitham, lying on the ground unconscious. Another man, Sean Brook, said that the men had been punched by two men they did not know.
Donkin was able to check surveillance video from Landmark Americana, a restaurant and bar at the corner of North Darlington and West Gay streets. On it, he saw the assault transpire.
The video showed three men sitting on a low wall outside the restaurant on North Darlington with a fourth man, later identified as Myers. The men were approached by two others shortly afterwards, one of them identified as Deldeo. The men shook hands.
A group of men walked toward the men along the wall on North Darlington, and Brook appeared to accidentally bump into Myers. The two got into a verbal altercation, which ended with Myers striking Brook in the face, causing him to fall backwards on the ground. The verbal back-and-forth among the men continued, with Deldeo then punching McNett and Leitham, also causing them to fall. The punches from Deldeo were unprovoked and caused significant injury, including a broken jaw that had to be wired shut, and a concussion, the complaint stated.
Leitham, who had been standing with the group with his hands in his pockets when he as punched, according to the complaint, fell and hit his head, causing a laceration that had to be closed with scalp staples. He also suffered a concussion.
“The way they started swinging for no reason, it seemed like they were looking for a fight,” Leitham told a reporter afterwards. “It happened all of a sudden and I just didn’t even see it coming. I just got knocked out.”
The robbery charge against Myers stemmed from the allegation that after punching Brook, he stood over Myers and took a wallet that was lying next to Leitham. He briefly looked through its contents before throwing it away.
Brook later told Donkin that he had suffered a concussion in the attack.
Borough Detective Cpl. Scott Whiteside was able to distribute photos of the suspects on social media and received multiple anonymous tips as to their identities. He said he was able to confirm Deldeo’s identity after contacting officers with the Lower Chichester Police department, who said they knew Deldeo from previous contacts.
Coincidentally, the assault came almost a year to the day after another unprovoked assault in the borough made national headlines, when a Chester County man mocked and punched a man with cerebral palsy outside a convenience store. That attack was also captured on videotape that was released to the public.
On May 10, 2017, a borough man who was visiting a 7-Eleven store on South High Street in West Chester was “sucker punched” by a Coatesville area man who mocked the way he walked. After police released video of the encounter, the man fled the area and caused a furor that saw police across four states search for him.
The suspect, Barry Robert Baker Jr., was eventually caught and charged with simple assault, He pleaded guilty and was eventually sentenced to three to six years in state prison.
Borough Detective Cpl. Scott Whiteside was able to distribute photos of the suspects on social media and received multiple anonymous tips as to their identities. He said he was able to confirm Deldeo’s identity after contacting officers with the Lower Chichester Police department, who said they knew Deldeo from previous contacts.