His arrest made headlines. Now Jonathan Merceus looks to rebuild.

Everything was falling into place for Jonathan Merceus. Not only were his wife and two young children healthy and happy, the Yorktown resident was about to fulfill a long-held dream by being named head coach of Manhattanville University’s men’s basketball team late last summer.

Known to friends as a "gentle giant" and family man with hard-to-miss presence, Merceus said it was shaping up to be one of the best periods of his life.

“I just got the head coaching position at Manhattanville, I had prior success at Pace University,” Merceus said. “Happiest time in my life.”

And then it all came crashing down.

An incident at Shrub Oak International School—where the 34-year-old was working in his spare time—led to his arrest in November 2025 and dismissal from his dream coaching job. While the arrest made headlines, a grand jury ultimately declined to indict Merceus, and the charges that upended his life and derailed his career—misdemeanor obstruction of breathing and felony first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person—were dismissed on April 23 in Yorktown Justice Court.

Seated in the office of his attorneys, James Timko and Hannah Robbins, Merceus told Yorktown News that the incident that would alter the trajectory of his career occurred during an otherwise typical workday at the school.

Merceus, who was listed at 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds during his playing days at Pace University in the early 2010s, went on to spend six years on its coaching staff.

While coaching at Pace—where he rose from graduate assistant to top assistant—he also worked with special needs children and at Lincoln Hall Boys’ Haven. In 2023, he was hired as a supervisor at Shrub Oak International School in Mohegan Lake, a therapeutic day and residential program for autistic children, adolescents, and young adults with complex needs.

As his responsibilities at Pace grew, he stepped away from a full-time role at Shrub Oak but continued to work there on a per diem basis.

He said the work remained meaningful.

“I felt like I've always been able to connect in a good way with that certain population,” he said.

Merceus typically worked two to four shifts a month and continued to do so after taking the Manhattanville job, often filling in when needed.

On Oct. 26, 2025, he was assigned to a 21-year-old resident with whom he had worked before. It had been some time since they last worked together, but he said it was common knowledge the young man could be combative, though he had never personally experienced this behavior.

“I remember that day specifically,” Merceus recalled. “He seemed a little bored—I put a nice outfit on him, I put some shoes on him and he was happy.”

Merceus said a supervisor had noted that “they work well together.”

“This student is my guy. I didn't think he was gonna attack me at the moment,” he said. “But this time he open-hand smacks me in the face, which startles me—but I wasn’t angry.”

He said he was “more confused than anything” because the resident was having “a good day.”

Merceus said this was the first time the resident had become aggressive toward him.

As the behavior escalated to punching, scratching and biting, Merceus said he restrained the student, relying on his past training.

“I take his wrist and kind of walk him on his bed and he's laying down and his wrists are kind of by his ears a little bit—and it's very calm,” he said.

A supervisor entered to help de-escalate. Merceus said the supervisor had seen similar behavior before and helped redirect the young man’s focus.

“I had no clue [the supervisor] thought I was harming the student,” Merceus said.

The supervisor went to a director, who then sent Merceus a Microsoft Teams message asking where he was. Merceus said he was still outside the young man’s room, ensuring the situation was under control.

He recalled being told, “‘Come to the front, grab your stuff … It’s basically like “clock out, get out.”’”

Merceus said he was in disbelief.

The director told him the supervisor said “it didn’t look good” and that the young man was “turning colors.”

The resident had two black eyes from an earlier, unrelated situation, according to attorneys for Merceus, who added that he felt like the “scapegoat” for an incident no one could explain.

Police were called later that day, and Merceus was fired by Shrub Oak the next day.

He said he did not learn of the allegations until a Yorktown detective called him two weeks later.

He recalled the detective “telling me that he wants to hear my side of the story and basically, turn myself in ... I was so shocked. I've never been in any trouble before, never been arrested, never been in a police precinct before.”

Merceus lost his job as Manhattanville’s head basketball coach, and he and his attorneys said the process dragged on too long, believing a quicker resolution might have saved his position. He said he understands the university had to move on—it announced in early April that it had hired Romello Ford, previously an assistant coach—but last week, as he cleared out his office, Merceus sat in the dark and mourned what could have been.

“No injuries, no bruising, no distress,” Merceus said.

In an email statement to Yorktown News on Monday, May 4, Shrub Oak International School officials said they were “disappointed” in the outcome.

“Our decision to involve the authorities was driven by a commitment to the safety of our community and a responsibility to ensure these serious allegations were fully investigated. While we respect the principle of due process, we believe the gravity of the claims warranted a full judicial proceeding,” the statement said. “Our priority remains the well-being of our students and maintaining a safe, supportive learning environment.”

Timko responded that “justice is never disappointing, by definition.”

He added that he believes if the school’s “true priority remained the well-being of the students and a ‘full judicial proceeding,’ they would have conducted a full internal investigation that included a debriefing of Mr. Merceus.”

Shrub Oak has faced scrutiny in recent years, including 2024 ProPublica investigations citing staffing shortages, parental concerns and oversight issues. The reporting also detailed prior arrests tied to abuse allegations and other staff misconduct cases.

“The Shrub Oak International School has fundamental problems that have nothing to do with Mr. Merceus,” Timko wrote to Yorktown News.

Merceus said the experience has been devastating.

He went from some of life’s happiest moments to “just dark times, really.”

He said he would not return to similar work like what he did at Shrub Oak. He added that he encourages staff members there to “make sure you’re covering yourself,” and said he believes “this facility does not care about their staff at all.”

He has a 3-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. He said that one day after court, his daughter asked him why he looked “so sad.”

That moment shook him deeply. He said his children are at such a vulnerable age and that he never wants to be in a position where he could be taken away from the life and family he’s built.

“I just made a promise to myself—that's not going to happen again,” he said, referencing the ordeal that left him in a dark place. “All this damage happens. I am not the same person I was five months ago.”

He still has questions about accountability, but said he has deep appreciation for Timko and Robbins for their work and support.

Merceus said the accusation “directly attacks what I've been doing all my life.”

He said he is focused on family and returning to basketball through his business, Count The Basket, which runs basketball camps and programs.

“I just want to keep giving back to the youth like I've been doing,” he said.