BALTIMORE – Maryland prosecutors are not seeking jail time for a former member of an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood watch group convicted in the beating of a black teenager.
Twenty-four-year-old Eliyahu Werdesheim faces sentencing Wednesday for second-degree assault and false imprisonment. His 22-year-old brother, Avi, was acquitted. The case drew comparisons to the fatal shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
Eliyahu Werdesheim faces up to 10 years on the assault count, but prosecutors are requesting a three-year suspended sentence, probation and community service.
The teen told police that Werdesheim struck him in the head and shouted, "You don't belong around here." Werdesheim testified he acted in self-defense when the teen attacked him.
Werdesheim's attorney, who will argue a motion seeking a new trial, says scores of people sent the judge letters of support.
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