One Attacker Accepts Plea DealĀ
A suspect in the brutal beating of Steve Utash, the man who accidently hit a child with his car in Detroit, has accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying at the trial against the other three defendants facing charges.
18-year-old Bruce Wimbush Jr. pled guilty to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. During a hearing on Monday, June 16th, Wimbush owned up to his role in the beating. He claimed to have become emotional when he saw the child struck by the car, thinking about his own younger brother. “We saw Mr. Utash hit the kid … I striked him once. I hit him in the jaw.” he said.
Wimbush is part of a group of people who attacked and brutally assaulted Steve Utash when he accidentally hit a 10-year-old boy with his pickup truck. The child stepped out in front of Utash’s moving vehicle. When Utash stopped his car and got out to help, a group of up to 12 people surrounded him and beat him so severely that he was hospitalized and held in a medically induced coma.
In return for his plea, Wimbush will be testifying against the other three defendants: 19-year-old Latrez Cummings, 24-year-old James Davis, and 30-year-old Wonzey Saffold. Another defendant is facing separate charges of assault and ethnic intimidation in juvenile court. The final defendant, who is 16-years-old and is not being named, was apparently the instigator of the assault, and threw the first punch at Utash. According to court records, the 16-year-old is also considering a plea deal at this time.
“I let my anger get to me,” Wimbush said, when addressing Wayne County Circuit Judge James Callahan. Wimbush has been released on a personal recognizance bond, but is required by the court to wear a tether and have a curfew until his scheduled sentencing on July 7th. He is facing up to 10 years in prison.
Police have gone on the record saying that Utash is not in any way at fault for the accident, and that the child was not seriously harmed. Utash remains at Saint John Hospital, where is still struggling to overcome his many injuries.