Sheriff: Bar owner hit deputy with car
The co-owner of a New York City bar that authorities said has been defying coronavirus restrictions was takeninto custody early Sunday after running over a deputy with a car.
Danny Presti, 34, tried to drive away from his bar, Mac’s Public House, as deputies were arresting him for serving patrons in violation of city and state closure orders, Sheriff Joseph Fucito said.
Deputies attempted to arrest Presti as he left the bar early Sunday, but Presti got into his car, struck a deputy and kept driving for about 100 yards as the deputywas left hanging onto the hood, Fucito said.
Presti was eventually stopped and apprehended, the sheriff said. Charges against him were pending.
The injured deputy was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries. His condition was not released.
The Staten Island bar was the site of protests last week after the sheriff’soffice arrested Presti on charges of violating restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus and obstructing governmental administration.
The tavern is in an area designated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as an orange zone because of spiking COVID19 rates and was not supposed to be serving customers indoors. But the owners had declared the bar an “autonomous zone,” a nod to protesters who claimed control over a Seattle neighborhood in June.
Authorities said the bar was still serving patrons Saturday night even though it was ordered closed entirely after Presti’s earlier arrest.
StatenIsland ismuchmore conservative than the rest of New York City and is the only one of the city’s five boroughs that voted for President Donald Trump
in November.