A 53-year-old New York City woman accused of ramming her car into Black Lives Matter demonstrators will not face prison time after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. According to the New York Post, six individuals were injured in the December 2020 event, but Kathleen Casillo was sentenced to five hours of community service after pleading guilty to a minor charge of reckless endangerment.
Casillo faced a seven-year jail sentence if she was found guilty. However, according to the terms of the plea agreement she reached with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the aforementioned misdemeanor charge she pleaded guilty to could be downgraded to a disorderly conduct violation if she completes her sentence and stays out of trouble for six months.
“You f—ed people’s lives up, you’re a criminal,” a demonstrator told Casillo outside Manhattan court on Monday. “You’re a criminal and you have not taken responsibility.”
The incident occurred in December 2020 during a Black Lives Matter protest on 39th Street and Third Avenue. Casillo, who was driving with her daughter, told police she accelerated because she was terrified for their safety. Several people are seen flying into the air in the video after Casillo drives her vehicle into them.
Casillo was arrested shortly after the incident and eventually freed without bond on reckless assault and reckless endangerment charges, according to the New York Post. Despite the 53-year-old’s claim that she drove into the crowd in fear because the protesters had become “aggressive,” the demonstrator said that was not the case.
“They didn’t do anything,” the demonstrator said. “My husband’s back was turned when you hit him and sent him flying into the air. His back was turned. How was that aggressive?”
Oliver Storch, who is Casillo’s lawyer, welcomed the outcome of the case. “We’re very gratified after an exhaustive and thorough review the Manhattan DA’s office has decided that Kathleen Casillo should not receive a criminal conviction, which we have maintained from the beginning of the case,” Storch said.
“Ms. Castillo is a retired grandmother who looks forward to putting this horrible ordeal behind her and spending time with her family,” Storch added. “Her thoughts and prayers go out to anybody injured.”
Casillo accepted the deal with prosecutors after first rejecting two plea agreements that would have required her to perform six days of community service. Her license would have been suspended for a year as well.
Prosecutors also stated that they struck the new plea arrangement with Casillo since she had a clean criminal history and did not flee the scene. They also stated that she had no intention of injuring the demonstrators and that she accepted responsibility for her conduct.
“We believe, given all this, it is just to permit the defendant to try to earn a non-criminal disposition,” said Assistant District Attorney Andrew Mercer in court. “If she fails in fulfilling any of the conditions of this plea — that is, if she does not complete the community service or gets rearrested in the next year — she will not be permitted to withdraw her plea,” Mercer added. “The misdemeanor conviction will stand and she will face possible jail time.”
