PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
KATHLEEN SHEA
Two Coatesville brothers accused of inciting a barber-shop brawl nearly a year ago that left one man in need of medical treatment were found not guilty Friday by a Chester County Court jury.
After deliberating for more than two hours, a jury apparently decided that the version of events in which Raygiel A. Perry, 43, and Joseph Perry, 42, were the sole instigators did not cut it. The brothers, who have both had previous, minor brushes with the law, were acquitted of aggravated assault and related offenses, stemming from an incident at Bookman’s Barber Shop in the 700 block of E. Lincoln Highway in Coatesville on April 8.
According to the criminal complaint, fisticuffs erupted about 1:30 p.m. at the shop, where James Thompson was waiting to get a haircut when the defendants arrived. Thompson told police that the Perrys entered the shop, engaged in a verbal dispute with them, and returned with a baseball bat and assaulted him. Thompson was treated at Brandywine Hospital for injuries that included lacerations, bites and a partially collapsed lung. The Perrys, who were represented by attorneys Christian J. Hoey and Paul Rubino, argued that the brothers acted in self-defense.