The man who punched the co-owner of the Shogun restaurant multiple times, after he tried to stop him from skipping out on a bill of over $400 was set to be sentenced on Friday.

However, the matter was postponed until later this month, because the Attorney General’s Office has to weigh in a motion by Lucas Healey’s attorney challenging the constitutionality of the law that allows offenders to be designated as persistent felons.

The crime happened on May 29, 2024. Healey had tried to pay the tab with a credit card, but the card only approved about $50 worth of food. That’s when Healey left the restaurant, and a fight broke out between Healey and Shogun employees that tried to stop him.

Healey punched the worker, Su Wen Zheng, multiple times in the face. Zheng fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious. He was in a coma for weeks and was left fighting for his life.

Healey rejected a plea deal on Aug. 16, 2024 and was found guilty by a jury on Jan. 27 of first-degree robbery, third-degree robbery, first-degree assault, third-degree assault.

Prosecutors had submitted a motion that they were going to seek Healey to be sentenced as a discretionary persistent felon, which could lead to a sentence longer than 25 years, including up to life.

However, Albany County Public Defender Jonathan Stroble made the appeal.

Judge Roger McDonough said he cannot legally proceed with sentencing until there is a response from the Attorney General’s Office.

“The attorney general is entitled to weigh in on Mr. Strobel’s assertion of behalf of his client as to the constitutionality of the statute,” McDonough said.

McDonough rescheduled sentencing for May 30 at 10 a.m.

The judge decided to let the victim’s wife read a victim impact statement. After a brief attempt from a Mandarin translator to make her statement, Assistant District Attorney Ryan Carty read a written version.

The victim’s wife said the attack has robbed her husband of his ability to speak. When he tries to form words, he gets frustrated, and he will bang his head against the wall.

“His life has been permanently altered. His career is destroyed. He can no longer read a clock, distinguish colors or remember the names of fruits,” Carty said reading from the letter. 

Her husband has fallen three times at home and suffered two seizures.

“My husband’s previous way of life is gone. His right arm and leg are uncontrollable. Once a pillar of our family, now he is trapped in silence and suffering,” she wrote.

The victim went on to say that she feels “isolated, crushed by the weight of this tragedy.”

“This attack has not only shattered our present life, but has also permanently altered our future, our daily living expenses and housing costs have become an overwhelming financial burden,” she said.