Bay City Teen Gets Ten Years in Prison
17-year-old Terrence L. Conklin, a teenager from Bay City, pled no contest in April to felony assault charges and as a result, is going to spend a decade in prison.
On Monday, June 9th, Bay County Chief Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Schmidt sentenced Conklin to imprisonment for 20 months to 10 years. The charge was ‘assault with intent to cause harm less than murder‘ which Conklin faced for bludgeoning a man with a mallet, apparently almost killing the victim.
According to police records, on May 13th officers responded to call from a resident of the Baytown Family Neighborhood housing complex, who called 911 because she had found a man outside her apartment whose face was bleeding.
The man was 28-year-old Ryan W. Zwiefka. He was taken by ambulance to McLaren Bay Region hospital, and then by helicopter to Hurley Medical Center in Flint once medical personnel realized the extent of the damage.
Zwiefka suffered severe injuries, including a depressed skull fracture, a subarachnoid bleed, an orbital fracture and a multitude of other facial fractures. Hospital staff said that his injuries were almost fatal.
While there are several different versions being told of what happened during the incident, officials are certain that Zwiefka was riding his bicycle near Baytown’s basketball courts when he was surrounded by a group of six or seven men.
Zwiefka claims that he was not there to purchase drugs, however a witness has stated that he heard Zwiefka ask for “coke”. Several people have agreed to the fact that a demand for $3 was made, although the reason is unclear why. Zwiefka has admitted that he drank about a pint of vodka earlier that day and made a racial remark to Conklin as he was trying to ride his bike away from the group.
Conklin apparently lost his temper and hit Zwiefka in the face repeatedly with a mallet. When police initially interviewed Conklin, he denied assaulting Zwiefka and claimed he wasn’t even in the area at the time of the incident. However, a witness in the neighborhood was able to identify him from a photo lineup.
Conklin was on probation at the time of the assault, having two prior convictions from 2012, one for malicious destruction of property and the other for aggravated assault.
In addition to the prison sentence, the Judge also ordered Conklin to pay $34,455 in fines, court costs and restitution. He granted him credit for 15 days served.
Criminal defense attorneys in Michigan know that, no matter what your age, being sent to prison for a long time can derail a career, schooling and other life plans. That’s why, if you are accused of a crime, getting an attorney with experience and a good track record can make a big difference.