A New York man has been arrested on an assault charge after being accused of delivering a punch to the head of a 21-year-old Irish man who then died.
Steven O'Brien was awaiting arraignment Friday. His lawyer, Matthew Gartenberg, calls John McGee's death tragic but says the 25-year-old O'Brien isn't guilty.
Authorities have classified McGee's death as a homicide while awaiting medical examiners' determination of what caused his death. Those findings may or may not prompt changes in the charges.
Police say McGee was punched around 3:45 a.m. Thursday after a dispute that began inside a Queens bar and then extended outside.
He was found lying on the ground and pronounced dead at a hospital.
Irish media say McGee, known as Danny, was from County Longford in the country's midlands.
