Trial of Former WPIX Reporter Vince DeMentri Halted Following N-Word Accusation

The trial of former WPIX reporter Vince DeMentri was halted yesterday after the man accusing DeMentri of assaulting him last year was suspected of lying on the stand.

DeMentri was charged last May with slapping the Bahamian ambassador’s chauffeur after the two had an argument over a parking spot. DeMentri had confronted the chauffeur, complaining that he was parked in a press zone.

The misdemeanor assault trial was put on hold yesterday, according to the New York Post, when the chauffeur insisted on the stand that DeMentri had used the n-word during the altercation. The chauffeur, Hurley Senanayake, said that he had told the prosecutor about DeMentri’s use of the slur but the prosecutor had previously stated he had never heard about it.

The judge put the trial on hold until today, giving the prosecution time to decide how they want to proceed.

>Update: The trial has been put on hold until next week because, according to the Post, “the alleged victim is now insisting on continuing his testimony in Sinhala, the official language of his native Sri Lanka — and Sinhalese court translators are tough to come by.”

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