A Lindenhurst man has been found guilty of assaulting two women with a hot clothing iron, burning them repeatedly.
Johnathan Wright, 34, was found guilty after a jury trial of assault, witness tampering, and other related charges, for repeatedly burning two women with a hot clothing iron in a Ronkonkoma hotel room in July 2021, dissuading them from seeking medical attention for their injuries, and then attempting to have one of the victims recant her story to police after his arrest.
In July 2021, Wright was staying at a Ronkonkoma hotel for several nights with two women, one of whom suffered from mental disabilities. On July 21, 2021, Wright became enraged with the women because they fell asleep while giving him a back massage. He began choking and punching the women in their faces and bodies and attempted to push the women out of the hotel window. He then ordered the women to strip naked and proceeded to tie them together with a belt. While the women were tied up, Wright took a clothing iron from the hotel bathroom, plugged it in, and began holding the hot iron to their skin, repeatedly burning them all over their bodies. Wright warned the women not to scream and threatened that the burning would get worse if they made noise. The assault continued for approximately three to four hours before Wright ordered the women into the shower while he fell asleep on the hotel bed.
In addition, Wright refused to allow the victims to seek medical treatment for their burns or report the assault to police for weeks after the assault, instead treating the victims himself by placing paper towels on their injuries. It wasn’t until one of the victims returned to her home in Coram in August 2021 that the victim’s mother helped her to report the assault to police.
On August 17, 2021, Wright was arrested for the assault and held in custody on bail as he awaited trial. From August 2021 through February 2023, Wright used a correctional facility phone line to make repeated phone calls to the victims in violation of court-issued orders of protection. During the recorded phone calls, Wright attempted to bribe one of the women to recant her statement to police and threatened both victims and their families with violence should they continue to cooperate with law enforcement. Members of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Suffolk County Police Department, and Suffolk County Sherriff’s Office monitored these recorded calls made by Wright and learned of his efforts to tamper with the witnesses.
On March 28, 2024, Wright was convicted of the following 46 charges after a jury trial heard before Supreme Court Judge Richard Ambro:
- four counts of first-degree assault, Class B violent felonies
- one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, a Class E felony
- one count of bribing a witness, a Class D felony
- one count of third-degree tampering with a witness, a Class E felony
- one count of first-degree criminal contempt, a Class E felony
- six counts of fourth-degree tampering with a witness, all Class A misdemeanors
- 32 counts of second-degree criminal contempt, all Class A misdemeanors
Wright is due back in court for sentencing on April 30, 2024, and faces up to 50 years in prison.
“The defendant subjected two women to brutal violence and then tried to hide his crimes by threatening the victims and preventing them from seeking medical attention for their wounds and even from cooperating with law enforcement,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “I am thankful for and deeply admire the bravery of these women in coming forward to the police, and I commend the work of law enforcement and my prosecutors for ensuring that this defendant is finally held accountable for these horrific crimes.”