Cody Heron mug shot and screenshots from a video of last year’s attack on a Philadelphia mother (Philadelphia Police Dept.)
A 27-year-old man in Pennsylvania is facing several years behind bars after admitting that he was the dirt biker captured in a viral video showing him stomping through a mother’s back windshield while her two young kids were in the car, pointing a gun at the woman, then head-butting her with his helmet.
Cody Heron reached a deal with the City of Philadelphia District Attorney’s Gun Violence Task Force and on Wednesday pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of an instrument of a crime, authorities announced.
“The foundation of public safety is regard and respect for our neighbors, which is why these chaotic scenes of groups of people harming others and defying traffic laws are so disturbing,” DA Larry Krasner said in a statement. “The swift identification, arrest, and conviction of Cody Heron give new meaning to the phrase ‘fast and furious.’”
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Heron’s Oct. 1, 2023, attack on Nikki Bullock was filmed by a tourist on a double-decker bus and posted to social media, quickly garnering national attention and leading to a slew of tips that helped law enforcement identify and apprehend Heron.
According to a news release from the DA’s office, prosecutors during a pretrial status hearing on Wednesday “made clear they were fully prepared to try Heron in front of a judge or jury,” which led to his guilty plea.
Before Heron’s conviction, prosecutors said they had obtained digital communications showing that after a video of the attack was widely viewed, Heron “attempted to evade accountability by destroying evidence” and using another person’s online profile to deflect the attention of investigators away from him.
During a news conference, Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Fernanda Sandoval clarified that they had recovered text messages from Heron’s phone indicating that he was trying to paint his bike and helmet so that if authorities ever executed a search warrant on his home, they “wouldn’t find things that matched the video that everyone was distributing.”
The attack was part of a larger unauthorized “motor meetup,” in which numerous individuals on dirt bikes and motorcycles gathered together in the street of Philadelphia. In this case, prosecutors said that Heron’s fellow bikers intentionally jammed traffic outside of City Hall, which enabled him to stop his bike in the middle of the street and attack Bullock.
“I want the motorists who plan these chaotic meetups for digital clicks and views — with no apparent regard for other drivers and passengers, including small children — to know that we and our law enforcement partners will use all tools to track you down and hold you accountable,” Gun Violence Task Force Chief Bill Fritze said in a statement Thursday.
In the video, Heron is seen climbing on top of Bullock’s car and then jumping through the back window, causing it to shatter and “sending shards of glass flying onto her two young children inside.” Bullock then got out to confront Heron, who pointed a gun at her and head-butted her with his helmet.
Following the attack, Bullock said that she was delivering food with her girlfriend and her two kids, 5 and 2, when the motorcycle and ATV riders surrounded her car. Bullock said the group was riding recklessly, and Heron collided with her car. They started arguing, and that’s when Heron hopped on the back of her car.
After he jumped through the window, she got out to confront him and saw he had a gun. She stood her ground to protect her children, she said.
“It was just like, it was a little gun, and at that point, my windshield was already broken, so what was he really going to do to me, for real?”
Heron is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5. Sandoval said her office is recommending a sentence of between three and six years in a state correctional facility.
Law&Crime’s David Harris contributed to this report.
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