One of two men indicted in March on a hate crime charge has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to four years in prison with a recommendation for the impact incarceration, or boot camp, program.
Prison boot camp is a four-month, structured rehabilitation program that, if successfully completed, can replace prison time.
As part of his guilty plea, an aggravated battery charge was dismissed against Robert Hunt, 18, of the 1300 block of East Black Avenue.
Anthony Ishmael, 18, of Williamsville also is charged with a hate crime and misdemeanor aggravated assault in connection with a Feb. 8 incident involving a Lanphier High School custodian.
Hunt and Ishmael allegedly approached a Lanphier custodian as he was salting a school parking lot at 11th Street and Converse Avenue about 7:30 a.m. Feb. 8.
The victim, who is black, told police that as he walked back toward the school with his equipment, three men approached and that one, allegedly Hunt, punched him in the back of the head and made a racial remark to him.
The custodian called for school security, and the attacker asked if he was calling the police.
When the custodian replied that he was, the three men surrounded him, and a second man, allegedly Ishmael, swung a fist at the custodian but missed.
The custodian said he pulled a pocketknife to defend himself, and the men ran.
Assistant state’s attorney Karen Tharp prosecuted the case. Hunt was represented by Springfield attorney Ryan Cadagin.
Ishmael’s case is set for trial June 25.
Tags: Assault, Crime, District attorney, Hate crime, Lanphier High School, Plea, Prison, Race-Ethnic-Religious Relations
