Lancaster Protesters Held on $1 Million Bail Each on Alleged Riot-Related Charges

From top left to bottom right: Yoshua Dwayne Montague, Kathryn Patterson, Barry Jones and Frank Gaston, Jamal Shariff Newman, Matthew Modderman, Talia Gessner, and Taylor Enterline. Courtesy of Lancaster Police

Several protesters in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, are being held on $1 million bail each for allegedly rioting in the city.

About a dozen people were arrested by authorities, including a juvenile for staging the riots at around 3 a.m. on Monday, officials told Fox News.

The rioters converged in the city in the wake of the officer-involved shooting death of Ricardo Munoz, who was seen on a police bodycamera video charging at an officer with a knife in his hand. The officer killed Munoz outside his mother’s house in Lancaster.

In this still image from police body camera video, a man chases a police officer while wielding a knife, in Lancaster, Pa., on Sept. 13, 2020. Courtesy of Lancaster Bureau of Police

Police officials said the mob of rioters threw rocks, bricks, and other objects at police. A county vehicle near the station was also damaged.

Jamal Shariff Newman, 24; Barry Jones, 30; Frank Gaston, 43; Yoshua Dwayne Montague, 23; Matthew Modderman, 31; Talia Gessner, 18; Kathryn Patterson, 20; Taylor Enterline, 20; T-Jay Fry, 28; Dylan Davis, 28; Lee Alexander Wise, 29; Jessica Marie Lopez, 32, were identified as the suspects. A 16-year-old boy was arrested but wasn’t identified.

Bail was set for $100,000 for Wise, and Lopez' bail information wasn’t known.

They face charges including arson, vandalism, riot, and criminal conspiracy.

Black Lives Matter-affiliated group Lancaster Stands Up criticized the high bail amounts.

“The absurdly high bail amounts indicate that what we’re seeing is not a measured pursuit of justice, but a politically motivated attack on the movement for police reform and accountability,” the group wrote.

The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting.

“There’s an investigation that has to play out here and we’re just asking everybody to maintain peace and allow the investigation to play out allow the district attorney’s office to do their jobs,” Lancaster Police Chief Jarrad Berkihiser said at a press conference earlier this week.

“It does us no good to create other harm, or other, you know, to have other loss of life or injury or any type of property damage within the city that does absolutely nobody any good because it actually detracts investigators away from that investigation,” he added.

Court records show that Munoz has a criminal record and was awaiting trial on four charges of aggravated assault at the time of his death.

Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace, a Democrat, said in a statement: “This has been a heartbreaking day for our city. I grieve for the loss of life and know that there are more questions to be answered as the investigation continues.”

Sorace said the officer involved in the incident was placed on administrative leave.