A Lancaster County jury yesterday convicted a Manor Township man of attempting to cut a man’s throat after an early morning altercation at a city bar following a two-day trial this week.

The jury found Syeen Y. Hill, of the 200 block of Stone Mill Road, guilty on Oct. 8 of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and possession of an instrument of crime.

Testifying in his own defense, Hill, 45, admitted during the trial to having slashed the victim with a knife, though he claimed he was acting in self-defense as the victim “towered over” him when he confronted him outside a bar in the 200 block of North Queen Street during the early morning hours of July 28, 2024.

But Assistant District Attorney Chris Miller, who prosecuted the case alongside Assistant District Attorney Emily Corcuera, played footage from Lancaster Safety Coalition cameras and from surveillance footage taken inside the bar itself which showed Hill walking behind the victim while holding a weapon in his hand, then slashing the victim across the neck shortly after 2 a.m. The victim suffered a seven-inch wound to his neck as a result of the attack.

During his closing argument Miller paused the video at the moment right before Hill struck and asked the jury to consider whether Hill truly appeared to be approaching the victim to have a discussion, as he claimed on the stand, or if the victim appeared to threaten him in any way.

The jury returned a guilty verdict on all charges after about two hours of deliberation.

After the verdict was read Hill began crying before being taken into custody.

An eyewitness to the incident told police the victim had accidentally bumped into Hill inside the bar which started an argument in which Hill warned the victim he would “die today.”

Police also received an anonymous tip that corroborated the story that Hill had argued with the victim after the two bumped into one another inside the bar. The tipster also told police Hill later bragged about slashing the victim’s neck, saying that he “didn’t see it coming.”

Judge David Ashworth, who presided over the trial, is scheduled to sentence Hill at a later date.

Lancaster City Bureau of Police Officer Ryan Burgett filed the charges.