Two of the men who attacked Dawit Alemu last June at 13th and Holgate near Beacon Hill International School were sentenced yesterday for their roles on the attack. Jaynus Speed and Kenneth Fisher pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and first-degree attempted robbery. Speed was sentenced to three years and Fisher to two years and eight months in prison. Last September a third attacker, Justin Phillips, was sentenced to ten years in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and first-degree attempted robbery. A fourth attacker who, like Speed, Fisher, and Phillips, was photographed by a nearby witness has not been found.
KING5.com has a report including comments from Alemu, who has made a remarkable recovery from the severe injuries he received in the attack, which occurred one day before his community college graduation.
Thanks for posting this news about Mr. Alemu. Ever since we heard about the story, we’ve wondered about his recovery. I’m so pleased that someone documented this horrible event so that at least some of the criminals are facing prison time. Our very best wishes to Mr. Alemu and his family for a much better future in our community.
wow. I went to the KING 5 link and I have to agree (which is unusual) with almost every comment posted there. Alemu was brutally beaten almost to death by complete strangers, is still physically recovering one year later and mentally who knows how long… and the perpetrators are only given a 3 and 2.5 year sentence? And given the chance not a single word of apology to Alemu…
Is there something that we’re missing or is that really the state of justice today?
Well, those two pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault, and those sentences are within the normal specs for that. The other guy pleaded guilty to 1st degree, and so he got 10 years.