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Pennsylvania prosecutors have accused an elected Democrat judge of shooting her sleeping ex-boyfriend in the face after he dumped her and asked her to move out of his apartment.
Embattled Judge Sonya McKnight has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault after police allegedly found gunshot residue on the 57-year-old's hands.
"The bullet entered the right side of the victim’s face, traversed through his head in a straight line behind and slightly below his eyes and exited the left side of his face," Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack's office said in a statement. "The victim survived the gunshot wound but is blind in one eye as a result."
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Judge Sonya McKnight after her arrest for allegedly shooting ex-boyfriend Michael McCoy in the face while he slept. (Dauphin County Jail)
The victim, 54-year-old Michael McCoy, had broken up with the judge and repeatedly asked her to move out of his home, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Associated Press. But on Feb. 9, he came home from a restaurant and found her on his couch in her pajamas.
He told her he wanted her out again, then went to bed. Next thing he knew, according to the affidavit, he woke up blinded and with "massive head pain" while McKnight allegedly asked him, "Mike, what did you do to yourself?"
McKnight allegedly called 911 around 1 a.m. and "could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming." The victim reportedly told police and hospital workers that he didn't shoot himself.
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Suspended District Judge Sonya McKnight leaves the Susquehanna Twp. Police department Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The suspended magistrate judge shot her estranged boyfriend in the head as he slept last weekend, police said Thursday in filing attempted murder and aggravated assault charges against her. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
McKnight's attorney Cory Leshner said in a statement Monday that his client did not fire the gun and expected to be cleared of wrongdoing.
"The investigation is probably going to show that it would have been impossible for him to shoot himself in the eye at that particular angle," said David Gelman, a New Jersey-based defense attorney and former prosecutor who has no connection to the case. "How are you going to prove it when you have the gunshot residue on your hands?"
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Pennsylvania Judge Sonya McKnight poses on a park bench. (Facebook/Sonya McKnight)
Doorbell videos from neighboring homes also contradicted part of her story, according to authorities.
The shooting could also bring renewed scrutiny to a 2019 incident in which she reportedly shot her estranged husband on self-defense grounds after she invited him over to help move furniture, he said. Despite her role in the legal realm, her ex-husband had a criminal record that included two armed robbery convictions.
McKnight temporarily went on voluntary paid leave in May 2019 but was cleared of wrongdoing by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office – helmed at the time by Josh Shapiro, who is now governor, PennLive reported. The victim in that shooting also survived.
"I don't know if they're gonna reopen it, but this will definitely play into the equation," Gelman said. "That's for sure."
Suspended District Judge Sonya McKnight is walked out of the Susquehanna Township Police station on Feb. 15, 2024. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
McKnight, who was elected in 2015 after defeating the incumbent in a Democratic primary, has been suspended on suspicion of unrelated ethics violations and allegations of corruption since November.
In a flyer for her 2021 re-election campaign, slogans included "advocate for second changes" and claimed she "fights for justice and fairness."
She avoided conviction for allegedly intervening in a traffic stop involving her son and allegedly gave staffers excess vacation time and ignored a civil claim against herself for $2,100.
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"When you're a judge, you really have to be above everything, and you really have to, like it or not, do everything above board," Gelman said. "It has to look and smell above board, and she hasn't done that."
Although the incident happened in Dauphin County, Cumberland County prosecutors are handling the case to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.
McKnight was being held on $300,000 bail.
"I don't foresee her taking the bench anymore," Gelman added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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