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Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868
Browning
DALLAS -- Polk County Deputy District Attorney Sally Avera said despite the violence of the September attack of a Falls City man, her office made a deal with the young defendants to give them a second chance.
The attack took place in Dallas on Sept. 25, 2009.
Defendants David McGowan, 17, Brandon Browning, 18, and Titus Lometo, 17, were arrested about a week later and faced four charges, including attempted murder, until pleading guilty to lesser charges on Feb. 23.
The deal will put them in prison for up to 7« years, but gives them an opportunity to leave prison early and undergo therapy that wouldn't have been available if they were convicted of the original charges.
McGowan
"None of them have a history of violence," Avera said. "They have an opportunity, a chance, to do better."
The victim of the assault, 52-year-old Donald Hawkins, said he hopes the teens will use the time in prison to improve their lives.
Hawkins sustained multiple injuries and continuing complications from 30 blows with skateboards and kicks from the defendants, according to prosecutors.
Avera said misinformation has been rampant in this case, mostly perpetuated by online posts connected to news stories and other outlets.
Lometo
In response to what she called a revictimization of Hawkins after the fact, Avera read a description of the assault in court.
She said the teens had been drinking the night of the assault. They flagged Hawkins down and asked him for a ride to the top on a hill on West Ellendale Avenue so they could skateboard back down. When he refused and started to drive away, one of the boys hit his car.
In his own statement before the court, Hawkins described what happened next.
He said he stopped his car and got out.
"I said, 'I can't believe you guys would do something like that just because I wouldn't give you a ride," Hawkins said.
That was when the beating began, with McGowan striking Hawkins in the face with his skateboard, taking Hawkins to the ground.
"This was not provoked by anything Mr. Hawkins did," Avera said. "It was not a boyish prank. It was clearly not a simple mistake."
Hawkins was knocked unconscious three times during the attack.
He recalled regaining consciousness the first time: "I couldn't see," he said. "It wasn't because it was dark."
He said the first blow had broken his nose and his vision was blocked with his own blood. He heard one of the defendants say: "Kill the (expletive)."
The attack continued until the teens saw the headlights of a car driving in their direction and took off. Before leaving Hawkins in the road, he said they took his wallet.
He said, again, one of his attackers threatened him: "Now I know where you live (expletive) and we are going to finish this."
He was hit and knocked out again.
When Hawkins awoke, the couple in the car that had chased the teenagers away had stopped to help him.
Emergency workers took him to the emergency room at Salem Hospital, where prosecutors said he stayed for four hours before being released.
Family members of the teens insist the defendants acted, at least in part, out of self defense and the crime doesn't match the sentence. They claim the boys never took Hawkins' wallet, but it was misplaced during the attack.
Browning's mother, Karlie Falca, who now lives in Florida, believes her son should be given consideration for what she said was a lesser role he played in the incident and not have to serve the same sentence.
"I don't think he (Browning) needs to sit and think about this for five years," she said.
McGowan's older sister, Michelle Ray, said the idea her 17-year-old brother will serve prison time is frightening to his family.
"This has totally devastated us," Ray said.
Hawkins said he was angry the boys weren't held responsible for what he said was their intent to kill him.
"They are not admitting to attempted murder; they are admitting to hitting a guy," Hawkins said, then turning to the families in the courtroom Feb. 23. "Your boys tried to kill me."
Attorneys for Browning, McGowan and Lometo didn't dispute Hawkins' description of the attack and said their clients admit to their actions.
"This was a pack of teenagers out drinking and this is the result," said Browning's attorney, Chris Lillegard.
Polk County Circuit Court Judge William Horner said the teens should be thanking the couple who drove by the scene, causing the defendants to run off.
"But for the vehicle coming by, we wouldn't be here for an assault," he said.
The teens remained silent throughout most of the hour-and-half-long hearing, except to enter their pleas. Given a chance to speak before sentencing, two of the three defendants took the opportunity to say they were sorry. "I want to apologize to the family," McGowan said.
In addition to saying he was sorry, Lometo said he took full responsibility for his actions on Sept. 25.
"I put the blame on me," he said. "Don't blame my mom ... She taught me what was right. It was on me that I did what was wrong."
