The armed biker who assaulted a woman on video in Philadelphia has been arrested and charged with multiple crimes. After a search in which the public provided some of the information leading to the arrest, the Philadelphia Police Department and District Attorney’s Office have identified the biker as 26-year-old Cody Heron.
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His identity was confirmed by local authorities who claim to be grateful for a flood of information from the public following Heron’s assault on Nikki Bullock. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Heron’s own employer was among those who reached out to police in the aftermath of the assault, though the newspaper makes no mention of who the employer is, nor of what Heron’s job was prior to his arrest. Per the Inquirer:
Authorities were able to narrow in on Heron after the video prompted a wave of tips, said Interim First Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore. One initial tip gave police the wrong name, before other tips, including from Heron’s employer, led them to Heron’s home on the 4500 block of East Stiles Street, in Frankford.
I mention what is presumably Heron’s former job because it’s likely his boss — who voluntarily contacted the police — is not expecting Heron to come back to work any time soon.
Heron crashed into Bullock’s Ford Fusion on Sunday night while he was part of a group of riders on dirt bikes and ATVs — many of which are not legally allowed on public roads.
Heron’s motorcycle made contact with Bullock’s car at an intersection near Philadelphia’s City Hall. An argument ensued, culminating in Heron smashing the rear glass of Bullock’s car. He then headbutted Bullock while wearing a helmet and aimed a pistol in Bullock’s direction before fleeing the scene.
The Philly DA released a statement on Wednesday providing more details, including the charges the 26-year-old armed biker is now facing:
Cody Heron (DOB 10/22/1996) was arrested overnight in the city’s Frankford section and is charged with Possession of an Instrument of Crime, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and multiple counts of Aggravated Assault. Widely-viewed video of the incident, which began after Heron ran into the driver’s side door of the complainant’s vehicle while travelling with a large group of motorcycle riders through Center City, depicts the defendant dismounting from his motorcycle and jumping onto the back of the victim’s car. Heron then kicks in the back window, spraying shattered glass all over the victim’s two children, ages two and five, who were seated in the back seat. A firearm can be seen falling from the defendant’s waistband before he retrieves the weapon and threatens the victim with it after she confronts him on the street. Heron head butts her during the confrontation before returning to his vehicle and fleeing the scene.
In a press conference shared by FOX29, police claim they managed to track Heron down with help from the public, but finding him was not straightforward because the information that flooded social media was not entirely accurate.
It appears Heron was using a fake name in order to throw off the authorities and conceal his identity. Even though savvy social media users were able to trace down an account in connection with the attacker, the name was a red herring. Philly police claim that the social media section of their Criminal Intelligence Unit identified Heron by piecing together the available information and the viral footage of the assault. Presumably, that includes the information that came in from more close credible sources like Heron’s boss.
Cody Heron is now in police custody and the DA’s office says it’s going to prosecute Heron to the fullest extent of the law.
