Plea In Monkey's Fist Assault: DA

MIDDLETOWN, NY — A Middletown woman who was accused of assaulting her ex-boyfriend and another woman in a Wallkill hotel room pleaded guilty in court Wednesday.

Justina Ferguson, 46, of Middletown, was charged with second-degree assault, a felony.

Prosecutors said, around 1 a.m. Aug. 15, 2020, Ferguson, who was with some other people, tricked the hotel staff into giving her room information and a key to the room where her former boyfriend was staying.

She entered the room and assaulted the woman with a weapon commonly called a monkey's fist, which has a knotted rope containing a weight and is designed to be used as a flail.

The woman suffered a serious head wound as a result of the attack.

Police said the assault was recorded by one of the people who accompanied Ferguson to the room.

Ferguson faces up to seven years in state prison and three-years post-release supervision when she is sentenced Feb. 17.

District Attorney David Hoovler her actions in lying to hotel staff to get access to her ex's room and bringing a weapon were clearly premeditated.

"And it is likely that the recording of the assault was also planned," he said.

"We may never know exactly what the defendant planned on doing with the recording of this heinous assault," Hoovler said, "but recording victims as they are assaulted, whether to keep as trophies, or to share with others, significantly re-victimizes those who are entitled to our sympathy and support."