Sister: There's a Lot More to the Dunkin' Donuts Assault

The older sister of a Hampton man who pulled another man out of a vehicle and beat him in the Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru lane claims the incident was the culmination of weeks of harassment and threats.

Kimberly Russ, also a Hampton resident, said her brother Cody F. Russ, 21, was attempting to stand up to a man who over the past month has allegedly tried to get him to fight, in addition to ridiculing him numerous times.

The victim in the Dec. 7 assault had allegedly been sending Facebook messages and texts threatening physical harm against Cody Russ. Kimberly Russ said these messages and details will help paint a different picture of the Dunkin' Donuts altercation once the Russ family presents them in court.

Kimberly Russ also said the assault occurred after the other man "purposely" cut off her brother's vehicle in the Dunkin' Donuts lot before "cussing [Russ] out." It doesn't excuse Cody Russ' behavior, according to his sister, although she said these details should show that there was more than one victim during the incident. 

"I know he acted on it and shouldn't have, but at the same time you have kids committing suicide due to bullying," said Kimberly Russ. "The kid was threatening to beat his head in with a baseball bat and police didn't do anything about it.

"I just feel like the cops are making one person out to be this awful, awful person for finally taking it into his own hands and not putting out the other side."

Cody Russ was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief after he pulled the other man out of his vehicle, causing that vehicle to roll into the vehicle in front of it and damage that other vehicle.

Hampton Police Lt. Dan Gidley said Cody Russ "mentioned" the harassment to the arresting officer, explaining that it was the reason for the alleged assault. Cody Russ was informed that he would have to file an official report about those claims, although Russ hasn't yet filed any reports relating to the harassment or other issues involving the other man.

"There are no investigations going on," said Gidley at the end of last week, adding that there are no suspects or charges pending involving an incident in which Cody Russ is listed as a victim.

Kimberly Russ said her brother and the other man don't have a "lengthy history" and while they "hang out in the same social group" she said the two men have "never been together in the same social setting" until Dec. 7.

This lack of direct contact means most of the threats have been made electronically, and Kimberly Russ said her family has a significant amount of evidence to support her claims.

"The kid wasn't very smart in how he went about things," said Kimberly Russ, who added that she does and doesn't agree with her brother's actions because she felt teachers and her school resource officer didn't help her when she went to them while she was being harassed "the entire four years" of her high school career.