A teenager pleaded guilty Monday and agreed to testify against others in a Detroit mob beating of a motorist who accidentally struck a child with his pickup, according to The Associated Press.
Bruce Wimbush acknowledged that he punched Steve Utash once in the jaw during the April 2 attack on the city's east side, the AP reported.
The mob pounced on Utash, a 54-year-old tree trimmer from suburban Macomb County, after he stopped to help the 10-year-old boy who had stepped in front of his truck, according to the AP. Utash spent days in a coma after the beating.
Wimbush, 18, told Wayne County Circuit Judge James Callahan that he "got emotional" when he saw the accident, the AP reported. Wimbush pleaded guilty to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced July 7.
"All I could see ... (was) my little brother" when Utash's vehicle hit the boy, said Wimbush, who was walking home from high school with a friend at the time, according to the AP.
Under a deal with county prosecutors, he also agreed to testify against others involved in the beating, the AP reported.
Latrez Cummings, 19, James Davis, 24, and Wonzey Saffold, 30, are charged with assault with intent to murder in the attack, according to the AP. On Monday, their pretrial hearings were moved to Thursday.
A 16-year-old boy, also charged with assault and ethnic intimidation in the case, is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Wednesday in juvenile court, the AP reported. Utash is white and his attackers are black.
Callahan said he would release Wimbush on $20,000 bond as long as he wears a tether that tracks his whereabouts, according to the AP.
Assistant prosecutor Lisa Lindsey told Callahan that Wimbush has already been the target of threats in the deal, the AP reported. The judge said he and prosecutors must be informed if it happens again.
