Sonya McKnight (file photo from 2018)
Suspended Harrisburg Magisterial District Judge Sonya McKnight will face trial, charged with allegedly shooting her ex-boyfriend in his sleep.
At a preliminary hearing at the Dauphin County Courthouse on Friday, retired Chester County Magisterial District Judge William Kraut moved the case forward to trial.
On Feb. 15, McKnight was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault in connection with the shooting on Feb. 10 of Michael McCoy, her ex-boyfriend. McCoy was shot in the head while he slept in his home in Susquehanna Township and is currently blind in one eye as a result.
On Friday, McKnight pled not guilty to the charges.
McKnight’s formal arraignment is scheduled to take place on May 3 in the county Court of Common Pleas.
During the hearing, Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack made the case, based on testimony by McCoy, that McKnight was the only person in the house with the victim on the night he was shot. McCormack also stated that McKnight was the owner of the gun used to shoot McCoy and that McCoy testified that he did not shoot himself.
The Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office assumed jurisdiction of the case at the request of Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo. Because McKnight is a judge in Dauphin County, Chardo said that his office had a conflict of interest.
The defense, McKnight’s attorney Cory Leshner, argued that the commonwealth did not meet their burden of proof, stating that McCoy testified that he did not know who shot him, as he was blinded at the time. Leshner also pointed out that McCoy would’ve had access to the gun, as it was kept in his home.
“The only thing I can say is that I did not shoot myself,” McCoy said during the hearing.
While Kraut said that there was a case to be made, he also said it was “weak,” based on the evidence presented.
McCormack said that his office used the bare minimum of evidence required of them for the preliminary hearing.
McCoy testified that his relationship with McKnight’s was “off and on,” the two often getting into arguments. One of those arguments occurred on Feb. 4 when McKnight “accused me of not having her back,” McCoy stated. At that point, he asked her to leave his house, where she was residing at the time, and said that he no longer wanted to be in the relationship. McKnight left, but returned later and, for the days leading up to the shooting, did not leave the house when repeatedly asked, McCoy said.
On Feb. 9, McCoy said that he again asked McKnight to leave and she responded by saying, “Oh, you’re serious?” He went to sleep in his spare room around 11 p.m. and woke up later with “excruciating pain,” he said.
McCoy said that McKnight was screaming and repeatedly asking him, “What did you do to yourself?” When he asked McKnight to call an ambulance, she asked him what the number was, he said.
McCoy said that he didn’t realize he’d been shot until officers arrived at the scene and told him. He said that he told police at the time that he did not shoot himself.
Since the shooting, McCoy has regained sight in his left eye, but not his right, has sustained damage to his eardrum and suffers from facial numbness. He has already had surgery to put a titanium plate in his face and has another surgery for his right eye next week, he said.
However, Leshner maintained that McCoy did not identify a shooter.
“Ultimately, they didn’t prove my client did anything wrong,” Leshner told reporters after the hearing. “We look forward to the opportunity to prove our innocence. Today was the first step in that process.”
In November, McKnight was suspended from her role as magisterial district judge, for the second time, without pay based on allegations of misconduct from the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania.
In another case, McKnight shot her estranged husband in 2019, but claimed it was self defense and eventually was cleared of those charges.
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