New Cassel Man Gets 25 Years for Beating of Elderly Hicksville Man

A New Cassel man who brutally assaulted an elderly Hicksville man suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease has received the max sentence of 25 years in prison, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice recently announced.

Josue Bonilla, 23, received the maximum sentence on all counts in the case: two counts of first degree assault and four counts of second degree assault. Bonilla was also sentenced to five years of post-release supervision and must pay $15,181 in restitution for his victim’s medical expenses, the DA said.

At 8:20 p.m. on April 28, 2012, the 68-year-old victim, who is from Hicksville and was lost and walking on Grayston Street in New Cassel, was confronted by Bonilla, who began to yell at him.

After the victim said he didn’t have anything, Bonilla punched him in the jaw, breaking the victim’s dentures and knocking him to the ground, the DA said. 

Bonilla then began punching and kicking the unconscious victim, and stomping on his head, chest, and back "so hard that he left shoe marks on the victim’s body." The victim is expected to be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life, Rice said.  Bonilla fled the scene but was arrested at his home on June 14, 2012 by police. 

The jury acquitted Bonilla of two counts of first degree robbery and one count of fourth degree grand larceny. It took a jury two days to convict Bonilla in July.