In A First During The COVID Pandemic, Man Faces Homicide Charges Over A Mask Argument

A man in West Seneca, New York, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of criminally negligent homicide for the death of an elderly man during an alleged dispute over masks. Should the case make it to court, it’s the first case of its kind during the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Tuesday, the U.S. had over 7.49 million confirmed cases and over 210,000 reported deaths since the pandemic hit in February. New York accounts for over 470,000 confirmed cases and over 32,800 reported deaths.

Donald Lewinski, 65, was arrested Monday in the Buffalo suburb for the altercation on Sept. 26. West Seneca is located about 10 miles southeast of Buffalo.

Prosecutors said Lewinski was at a local sports bar where a band was performing when the altercation took place. The victim, identified as 80-year-old Rocco Sapienza, saw Lewinski walking around the bar without a mask and confronted him about it. The men started to argue, which escalated as Sapienza also brought up Lewinski’s alleged poor treatment of the bar’s staff.

“Apparently, the victim didn't like the way the defendant was talking to some of the staff; also there was an incident beforehand that involved a young lady, and the victim didn't like the way the defendant spoke to the young lady,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said Monday at a press conference. “These two were butting heads from minute one.”

As the two were arguing, Flynn said security footage showed Lewinski push Sapienza to the ground “hard,” causing Sapienza to hit his head and lose consciousness. Sapienza was then rushed to a nearby hospital where he died a few days later from blunt force trauma.

Arguments about masks during the coronavirus pandemic have become commonplace in the U.S. with videos posted on YouTube and social media. Some of these arguments resulted in either a physical altercation or damaging property but not death.

“We see it everywhere, where people are confronting one another and having arguments about not wearing masks, and it's unfortunate that we have an incident here now in western New York where this escalated into an 80-year-old man passing away,” Flynn said.