Schenectady

It was a quick snap of his fingers by a movie patron who hoped to get a group of unruly youngsters to calm down so he and his daughters and a friend could enjoy the action flick "White House Down."

But that gesture by a Glenville man on June 29 at the Bow Tie cinemas resulted in him getting and jumped and beaten by at least eight people. Some of them now face felony charges.

The 46-year-old victim, whose identity was not released by the district attorney's office, suffered a concussion, a broken nose and an eye injury that is causing vision problems.

"The concussion has caused him headaches, memory loss, and difficulty in his day-to-day work," Assistant District Attorney William Sanderson said Monday.

(Editor's note: Discuss this story in Crime Confidential.)

He said the man snapped his finger once, "to kind of indicate 'knock it off'" but didn't say anything to the group of mostly males, ages 16 to 20, who ran up and down the aisle yelling and banging a plastic garbage can near the entrance to the theater.

As the credits rolled at the end of the movie, one of the young men accosted the victim from behind, punching him in the head, Sanderson said. A second male did the same thing, he said.

After the second punch, the man stood and blocked the third punch before the whole group attacked him, the prosecutor said.

They knocked the man to the ground, repeatedly punched and kicked him and dragged him on his knees, Sanderson said. When one of the victim's 15-year-old twin daughters tried to help her father, she also was hit. One of the assailants ran off with her cellphone.

It's unclear how long the assault lasted, but no one inside the theater tried to help the victim, Sanderson said.

Within minutes, police responded and nabbed Dashawn Harrison, 17, of Schenectady, at the scene and stopped others who matched the description provided by eyewitnesses. The man's daughters recognized some of the assailants from school, Sanderson said.

Harrison is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on assault and gang assault charges, the prosecutor said.

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On Friday, an indictment was unsealed against Tyrell Bell, 18, of Schenectady, and Jonas Jeannot, 16, of Niskayuna, charging them with the same offenses as Harrison. Jeannot also is charged with third-degree assault for allegedly punching the victim's teenage daughter.

There is no indication that any of the assailants were drunk or are affiliated with any gang, Sanderson said. They have not been arrested previously, but face up to 25 years if convicted of the assault charges.

Sanderson said he is not aware of any security at the theater except for employees who periodically check for any problems.

Officials at Bow Tie Cinemas could not immediately be reached for comment, but Sanderson said the theater is normally a safe place.

"I haven't heard or seen anything unusual there," Sanderson said. "It was young men out of control and something that escalated way beyond anything remotely reasonable."

On Monday, the victim declined comment through the district attorney's office.

Sanderson credited outstanding police work by Schenectady Detective Derek Sherman of the department's Youth Aid Bureau with tracking down the other assault suspects.

The prosecutor said some of the cases against the minors are being handled in Family Court and that more arrests are expected in the ongoing probe.

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson