LANCASTER, PA – A former Pennsylvania magistrate judge could face a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of attempting to murder her boyfriend in a shooting incident that left the man permanently blind in one eye. On Wednesday, a jury in Lancaster County found 58-year-old Sonya M. McKnight guilty of attempted murder and aggravated assault for shooting Michael McCoy in the head while he was asleep in February last year.

The jury’s decision came after two days of testimony, during which McKnight’s past violent incident was also highlighted. She had previously shot her estranged husband in self-defense, but this attempt on McCoy’s life was seen in a different light by the jury.

The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 10, 2024, at McCoy’s residence located in the 200 block of Saddle Ridge Drive, Dauphin County. According to prosecutors, McKnight shot McCoy while he slept, inflicting a wound that led to permanent blindness in one of his eyes.

Due to a conflict of interest, the case was handed over to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office at the request of Dauphin County DA Fran Chardo. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office also declined to take the case due to similar conflicts, given McKnight’s position as a former magisterial district judge in the county.

Details from the investigation reveal a turbulent end to McKnight and McCoy’s relationship. McCoy had ended their year-long relationship a few days before the shooting, but McKnight refused to leave his home despite his requests. Tensions escalated leading up to the shooting, with McCoy suspecting McKnight of following him on the night before the attack.

The tense dynamic further deteriorated after McCoy expressed his intention to enlist McKnight’s mother’s help in getting her to leave. It was shortly after this that McCoy went to bed, only to wake with excruciating head pain and impaired vision.

McKnight, who called 911 claiming ignorance of the incident’s specifics, was found with gunshot residue on her hands. The weapon used was registered to her, adding to the mounting evidence against her. McCoy maintained throughout the ordeal that he did not harm himself, a claim supported by forensic analyses, which indicated the shot was fired from a close distance.

This latest conviction adds to McKnight’s legal troubles. She had already been suspended from the bench without pay in 2023 due to multiple allegations of misconduct, including an incident where she reportedly instructed her staff to disregard a complaint involving a personal debt.

In 2019, McKnight faced another violent encounter where she shot her estranged husband. However, that case concluded with no charges as investigators deemed her actions were in self-defense.

With this conviction, McKnight’s future now rests in the hands of the court, which will determine her sentence in the coming weeks, potentially concluding her judicial career with a lengthy period of incarceration.