QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - A man accused of threatening an Asian family, making racist comments and hitting a man with his vehicle in Quincy will remain under house arrest following a dangerousness hearing.
John Sullivan, 77, was brought into a courtroom in a wheelchair Thursday where prosecutors sought to have him held without bail. He is facing multiple charges after allegedly threatening Daniel Ngo, his sister Desiree Thien, and Thien’s three children, telling them to “Go back to China” before hitting Ngo twice with his car, sending the victim into a ditch.
The incident happened outside of a post office on Friday, Dec. 2, resulting in Ngo suffering injuries after he fell into a construction pit while Sullivan fled the scene, followed by a construction worker before he was stopped in Braintree.
“I don’t think it’s right you know, I’m a citizen, I’m an American, for him to say something like that is very racially discriminating,” Ngo told 7NEWS following the incident.
He said his sister called 911 to report the incident and that he had tried to keep Sullivan from leaving the scene when he was flung into the ditch.
In court a week later, prosecutors introduced cell phone footage that captured the moment Ngo was hurled from the vehicle and into the pit. Ngo said he suffered a broken shoulder, an injured leg, and a concussion, and that he initially denied treatment out of concern for his family.
Speaking with 7NEWS on Thursday, Sullivan’s attorney said his client did nothing wrong and never said any racial slur.
“He denies ever saying anything racial, no eyewitness ever heard him say anything racial, no video picked up him saying anything racial,” he said.
Ngo’s sister, however, said the 77-year-old knew exactly what he did.
“It’s his nastiness and his dark thinking that’s landed him where he is right now,” Thien said by phone. “He (knows) what he said.”
Opting not to hold Sullivan without bail, a judge ordered the suspect remain under house arrest, in addition to ordering him not to drive or have any contact with the victim.
Sullivan is due back in court in February 2023.
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