Pittsburgh-area man charged with punching bride in face at wedding after being “cut off” from alcohol, police say
By Michael Guise
A Mercer County, Pennsylvania, man is accused of punching a bride in the face at her wedding last week.
John Cianci is facing a list of charges in connection with the attack during the wedding on Aug. 29 in Butler County.
According to the criminal complaint, Cianci was a guest at a wedding at The Woods at Eisler Farms in Connoquenessing Township and became “extremely angry and violent” after he was “cut off” from alcohol. He later punched the bride in the face, knocking her to the ground, according to the criminal complaint. The Sharpsville man hit the bride with a “round house” style punch, the criminal complaint says.
Cianci punched three other people who tried to subdue him after punching the bride, and he was “extremely irate,” according to the criminal complaint, which added that his actions caused injuries to the victims, as well as “public inconvenience, annoyance and alarm” to the victims and those in attendance.
Cianci was charged with four counts of simple assault, four counts of disorderly conduct, four counts of harassment and one count of public drunkenness. He is awaiting his next court appearance. He was released on $5,000 bail.
Wedding brawl aftermath: Groom’s relative arrested for allegedly assaulting cop
Oct. 9, 2012, 1:49 AM GMT+7
A New Jersey man who wound up being Tased by police has been identified as one of the main troublemakers in a brawl between two wedding parties at a Philadelphia hotel, authorities said.
Philadelphia police say they booked 26-year-old Matthew Sofka of Westfield, N.J., on charges including assault on police, inciting a riot and reckless endangerment.
Sofka was a guest at a family member’s wedding at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel when a brawl broke out with another wedding party about 1:30 am. Sunday. Police called in extra patrols to quell the 75- to 100-person rumble. Police say most of the fighters were drunk.
During the brawl, police used a Taser to subdue Sofka, a relative of the groom.
The uncle of one of the brides, Vincent Sannuti, 57, suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead at Jefferson University Hospital, NBCPhiladelphia.com reported. Sannuti, who was also celebrating his birthday, was not involved in the melee, according to police.
View NBCPhiladelphia.com’s coverage on wedding night fallout
Portions of the chaotic brawl were caught on cellphone camera by Max Schultz, a 15-year-old guest at the hotel who was not part of the wedding parties.
“I was up on the second floor watching. It was bedlam, out of hand,” said Schultz, who posted the video to YouTube. “They just started punching each other and hitting each other and the people just came in and started clubbing people.”
Philadelphia Police Sgt. Sean Dandridge was hit in the head during the melee and received treatment for concussion-like symptoms. He is expected to recover.
Dandridge’s apparent Facebook page, which says he’s a Philadelphia cop, had this message posted Monday morning: “Getting checked out at hospital. No serious neurological injury. Awaiting more tests. Mom called: “Now it’s on The Good Day Show.” My head started hurting again…. Doc said “Take it easy…”
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In the video, a police officer is seen striking Sofka three times with a baton. Police say he was then subdued with a Taser — an act not caught on camera. Schultz is heard on the video saying, “Did they just deck the bride? They just decked the bride.”
Police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers told The Philadelphia Inquirer it was actually not the bride, but rather a bridesmaid who had been hit.
Aside from Sofka, two other people were cited for disorderly conduct for their alleged roles in the brawl.
Police say there could be more arrests.
The hotel released a statement in response to the fight.
“We continue to cooperate with the authorities and as this is an ongoing police investigation any questions should be directed to the local police department. Our sincerest condolences go out to the family for their loss.”
NBCPhiladelphia.com’s Jackie Galley, Dan Stamm and Danielle Johnson and NBC News’ Sevil Omer contributed to this report.
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Florida man allegedly pushes bride to ground, causes chaos at wedding
By Dani Medina
Published February 27, 2024 1:28pm EST
article
Photo: Pinellas County Sheriffs Office
LARGO, Fla. – A wedding reception in Florida turned sour on Saturday night after one of the guests was arrested for allegedly pushing the bride to the ground and attacking a few other attendees.
Rontae Stokes, 45, was arrested and charged with five counts of felony battery and one count of criminal mischief after the incident that unfolded at an event hall on 126th Avenue in Largo, according to an arrest affidavit from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Stokes, a guest at the wedding, got into a verbal altercation with the bride and allegedly pushed her to the ground. Stokes’ relation to the bride was not made immediately clear in the affidavit, nor was the reason for their exchange. The affidavit does say, however, that there was an indication of alcohol influence.
RELATED: Florida father, son arrested in brutal beating of man at wedding reception
He’s also accused of grabbing a ceramic lawn chair and throwing it into a glass door, which resulted in a broken chair leg and about $800 in damage to the property, the affidavit said.
Stokes was then escorted out of the building. On his way out, however, he allegedly struck multiple wedding guests with his hands and feet, including his mother, niece, brother-in-law and another guest.
MORE CRIME: Florida mom turns in son, 12, after finding threats on his phone to shoot boy at school: affidavit
Stokes, who has a prior battery conviction from 2014, remains in custody in Pinellas County on $30,000 bond.
