Man Found Guilty Of Gouging Teen's Eye, Assaulting Suffolk Movie Worker

SAYVILLE, NY — An East Islip man was found guilty in court on Tuesday, after he strangled a movie theater employee's neck and attacked a teenager in June, the Office of the Suffolk County District Attorney confirmed with Patch.

Donald Ahlers Jr., 55, was convicted of with third-degree assault, criminal obstruction of breathing, and endangering the welfare of a child before a jury trial and Judge Rosann Orlando, according to online court documents.

On June 18 at about 9:40 a.m., Ahlers Jr. entered into a physical altercation with a female employee in front of the former Sayville Cinemas, now Sayville Theater, located at 103 Railroad Ave, police said.

During the altercation, Ahlers Jr. grabbed and squeezed the female employee’s neck, police said.

A 16-year-old employee tried to intervene, and Ahlers Jr. then attacked the teenager, punching him in the head and gouging his eye, police said.

Both employees both suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The female employee was shown an overwhelming amount of support by Sayville residents on social media, and helped her identify and located Ahlers Jr.

The female employee took to social media , describing the incident while attaching a photo of the man.

Ahlers Jr. will be sentenced July 11.