Teen charged in Steven Utash attack accepts plea deal

Source: Detroit Free Press

The teen charged as a juvenile in the beating of Steven Utash struck a plea deal at a hearing this afternoon at the Lincoln Hall of Justice in Detroit.

The 17-year-old, whom the Free Press is not identifying because he is charged as a juvenile, was initially charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm and ethnic intimidation in connection with the April attack. He is black; Utash is white.

During the hearing, he accepted responsibility to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and agreed to testify in future court hearings in the case. In return, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the ethnic intimidation charge.

It’s unclear what led prosecutors to charge him with ethnic intimation.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20140618/NEWS01/306180078/steven-utash-attack-teen-beating