Tunningley Pleads Guilty to Brutal Robbery of Dansville 90-Year-Old

LIVINGSTON COUNTY – The man who was arrested in December 2014 in connection to the brutal beating and robbery of a 90-year-old Dansville resident pled guilty to the crime Tuesday morning.

Brad Tunningley, 44, pled guilty to all six counts of his indictment, which charges one count of Robbery in the Second Degree, two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and Petit Larceny.

“Mr. Tunningley testified at Grand Jury and they chose not to indict him for a hate crime,” said Tunningley’s attorney, Marcea Clark Tetamore, head of the Public Defender’s Office. “We are requesting a sentence of 7 years with the Department of Corrections.”

Judge Robert Wiggins acknowledged that the original theory of the case was that the attack and robbery of Paul Isaman, 90, was a hate crime (that the age of the victim made him vulnerable and the target of the crime) and was to be punishable by 10 years in state prison with the Department of Corrections, but the Grand Jury did not indict Tunningley of the hate crime and the anticipated sentence will be 7 years in prison.

“I do find you to be of sufficient age and intelligence to enter this plea,” said Judge Wiggins, “which makes this all the more sad, frankly sir.”

Judge Wiggins had Tunningley give a full colloquy and describe the crime and Tunningley admitting that he struck Isaman ‘three or four times’ with his fist and then took his wallet, which contained less that $1,000 in cash and credit cards.

Isaman said at the time of the crime that he was indulging a pitiful stranger, Tunningley, who was complaining about his life when he invited him into his house on Park Avenue at about 8 p.m. on November 29, 2014. Eventually Tunningley’s true motives came out, though, and he hit Isaman in the eye and face and took his wallet.

“It was a bad experience,” said Isaman calmly at the time. “I was there talking to the guy about his life, and he eventually asked for my wallet. I told him he couldn’t have it, and he hit me on the head.”

Tunningley fled after the robbery and was later apprehended in Amherst, NY.

Sentencing will be in June, so that Tunningley can “finish some things up before going to prison” as Tetamore said, though District Attorney Greg McCaffrey indicated that he would rather proceed directly to sentence.

PHOTO CAPTION: (Photo/Livingston County Sheriff’s Office)

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