LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A man serving prison time for assaulting a man outside of a Lancaster bar on Christmas morning in 2015 will get no relief in his 4 1/2 to 10-year sentence, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
Alexander Rodriguez-Cruz, 29, claimed in his appeal that the sentence was too harsh and the jury’s verdict was against the weight of the evidence, the DA’s Office said. He also noted that he only committed a simple assault, rather than an aggravated assault, because he threw one punch.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court denied Rodriguez-Cruz’s claim, finding that the sentence was appropriate and the jury’s verdict did not “shock one’s sense of justice,” which according to the DA’s Office, is the threshold required to overturn conviction. Based on testimony, the court added that Rodriguez-Cruz was present during the attack, did nothing to stop it, helped carry the unconscious victim and delivered the “final punch” to the victim’s face, the DA’s Office stated.
Rodriguez-Cruz was one of four people — known as the “Pack of Wolves” — convicted in the brutal beating outside of Molly’s Pub. The others included Raymond Lee III (sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison), former bar owner Anthony Maglietta (sentenced to 5 1/2 to 11 years in prison) and Joshua Ellis (sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison).
