A Brooklyn tow truck driver accused of punching a man to death during an argument over an illegally parked vehicle was released from jail this week and likely won’t face time in prison following his arraignment on a simple misdemeanor.
Kevon M. Johnson, 30, faces one charge of third-degree assault after he delivered a crushing blow to the face of Carlyle Thomas on March 17, knocking the 61-year-old Black man to the ground outside a Shell gas station, where he died after hitting his head on the pavement.
The Jamaican native was pronounced dead at Brookdale University Hospital on St. Patrick's Day.
Carlyle Thomas was killed on March 17 after being punched by a tow truck driver. (Photos: Facebook/Carlyle Thomas)
Earlier that evening, Thomas argued with the tow driver who had hitched up Thomas’ Honda Odyssey, which had been parked in a $10 space, for which he had not paid.
After the incident, Johnson was taken into custody as a preliminary investigation determined the victim died as a result of a homicide.
However, a legal loophole in New York, known as the “one-punch homicide,” carries less severe penalties compared to charges of murder or manslaughter, and due to statewide bail reforms implemented in 2020, Johnson could not continue to be held on the misdemeanor charge.
He was granted supervised release just two days after Thomas was killed, his blood still fresh on the ground by the gas pumps down the street from his house.
“The law allows only for charges relating to the punch, and there is no way to prove intent to cause his death or any other serious injury,” according to a law enforcement source who spoke to the New York Post.
A friend of the victim who spoke to the Post mentioned that Thomas lived near the station on Clarkson Avenue near Rockaway Parkway in East Flatbush and occasionally parked his van there.
Thomas was a regular customer at the store and was even known to pitch in and help the employees unpack deliveries, family members said.
On the night of the fatal encounter, someone called Thomas to alert him that the gas station manager had requested a tow truck to impound his vehicle, sending Thomas scurrying to see about his van.
One witness suggested that Thomas never had a chance as he was sucker-punched as soon as he opened the door of the tow truck to confront the driver.
“He open the door of the tow truck and the guy punch him in the head! He go down and bam! Dead. He die right there in front of pump 6! He never touch the guy, only touch his door and the guy come out and punch him,” the Post quoted the man.
