Verdict Still Out in Roxen Road Assault

The defendants in the June 2012 assault on Roxen Road had a new charge brought against them last week as court proceedings continued.

According to New York State Courts, Matthew Diperna, William Moore, Kevin Coyle, William Nelson and Nolan Kelly were all charged with attempted assault with intent to cause physical injury with a weapon, a class E felony.

The class C felony charge of second-degree gang assault remains as the top charge, among multiple others, against all five defendants.

Members of the Rockville Centre Police Department participated in an evidentiary hearing regarding the assault last week, Commissioner Charles Gennario told Patch.

All five defendants are scheduled to return to Nassau County First District on Aug. 8.

According to police, the assault happened when the wife of the victim was walking her dog on Nottingham Road and was verbally accosted by five to eight young men. She ran home and told her husband of the incident, and the two drove around the neighborhood looking for the men to demand an apology.

They found the group on Roxen Road, which is where the assault took place, police said. Neighbors who heard the disturbance called police at 11:55 p.m.

Police said the men fled before police arrived and Nassau County detectives were called in to join the investigation.

The man was transported by Rockville Centre police to Mercy Medical Center where he was treated for broken ribs, multiple contusions and injuries to the face and jaw.

The first two arrests came just three days after the assault when Diperna and Moore — both seniors at South Side High School at the time — were taken into custody.

A third arrest was made nearly one month later when a joint investigation by RVC and Nassau County Police led the departments to Coyle.