A man has pleaded guilty to two counts of assault in a vicious attack on the manager of a Manhattan pizza place last year that put the victim in a coma and saw him mauled by a dog, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Tyshaun Watson, of Secaucus, New Jersey, initially was indicted on attempted murder and other more serious offenses. The plea deal announced Wednesday accepts his assault plea in exchange for a 17-year sentence in state prison and five years of post-release supervision.
Watson was accused of beating the Roma Pizza employee inside its location on Fifth Avenue near East 19th Street in the Flatiron District around 10 p.m. on Aug. 19, 2024, court documents said. The then-47-year-old Watson had gone into the shop with his dog, ordered at the counter, then sat in the back to eat.
But the manager had told Watson twice his dog was not allowed in the restaurant, sparking an argument between the two, according to court documents. The manager put Watson’s order in a to-go box, but Watson grew infuriated and walked behind the counter.
Prosecutors say Watson punched the manager in the head, tackled him to the ground and kept hitting him as his dog bit him. Another worker inside the shop tried to get Watson off the manager, but Watson took a swing at that other employee, officials said.
As the beating continued, the manager was able to get to the front of the counter, pull himself up and run out of the pizzeria. He tried to close the door on Watson, but was unable to, and ended up in a chokehold.
Court documents say Watson threw the victim to the ground and continued his alleged onslaught, punching and kicking the man in the face and stomach, with the dog continuing to bite him as well.
After stomping on the victim’s face two final times as he lay on the sidewalk, Watson went back into the pizza shop with his dog and waited until police arrived at the scene, according to those records.
The manager was treated at a hospital for brain bleeding, facial bruising and swelling, facial bone fractures and a traumatic brain injury, prosecutors said. He remained intubated in that medically induced coma for two weeks and spent another six weeks at the hospital undergoing additional treatment.
“Tyshaun Watson is facing accountability for viciously attacking a pizzeria manager,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “This employee, who was just doing his job, suffered significant injuries and had to be placed in a medically induced coma for two weeks. No worker should ever have to fear for their safety.”
Police took the dog into their custody at the time of the incident as well. It wasn’t clear what happened to it.
