Sheriff: Defiant NYC bar owner struck deputy with his car
Mac's Public House co-owner Danny Presti is taken away in handcuffs after being arrested by New York City sheriff's deputies, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Presti, who was providing indoor service in defiance of coronavirus restrictions, was arrested after a sting in which plainclothes officers went inside and ordered food and beverages. [Steve White via AP]
The co-owner of a New York City bar that authorities said has been defying coronavirus restrictions was taken into custody early Sunday after running over a deputy with a car, authorities said.
Danny Presti fled from his bar, Mac’s Public House, after deputies observed patrons entering the establishment Saturday night 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 even as the deputy was left hanging onto the hood, Fucito said.
Presti, 34, 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. The deputy’s condition wasn’t immediately available.
An email seeking comment was sent to an attorney representing the bar’s owners.
The Staten Island bar was the site of protests last week after the sheriff’s office said plainclothes officers were able to go inside and order food and beverages on Tuesday. Presti was arrested at the time.
The tavern is in an area designated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as an orange zone because of spiking COVID-19 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.