Florida man Ryan Nihart was found guilty on Monday of attacking a store employee wearing a “minion” costume. He was sentenced to 10 days in a Volusia County jail and a year of probation, according to the State Attorney’s Office for the 7th Judicial Circuit. Records viewed by Law&Crime showed that he pleaded no contest in the July 8, 2018 incident.
Prosecutors say that Nihart,”a self-proclaimed social media ‘star’,” attacked store employee Jamie Roehm, who was dressed as a “minion” from the Despicable Me animated movies. Trial was set to begin Monday for misdemeanor criminal mischief and battery.
Had the proceedings continued, jurors would have seen the footage embedded above. In it, Nihart picks up the “minion,” swings him, kicks him, shoves him to the ground, and continues to push him around.
Footage from after the incident shows bystanders holding down Nihart. The defendant described himself as an “Instagram star” doing a prank. He claimed that the minion agreed to being on a video.
“I was just kidding bro,” he said.
Roehm, who has been described as partially blind and mentally disabled, told The Daytona Beach News-Journal last July an account that disputed Nihart’s side of the story.
“It wasn’t funny at all,” he said. According to the charging affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, Roehm told cops that that Nihart began getting rough with him. He said that the defendant didn’t quit when he told him to stop fighting. The staffer sustained a bruise on his left forearm, police said. His boss told investigators that the $300 minion suit was destroyed in the attack.
[Screengrab via Bay News 9]
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