Ex-Con Sentenced For Berkeley Attack

OAKLAND, CA —A six-time felon who had faced life in prison for setting his former girlfriend's tent on fire and then violently attacking her at a homeless encampment in West Berkeley in January has been sentenced to only two years, prosecutors said Monday.

James Dwayne Sykes, 43, was charged with premeditated attempted murder, arson and corporal injury to a relationship partner for his attack on his ex-girlfriend at the encampment near Second and Harrison streets on the morning of Jan. 25.

But on April 13 the Alameda County District Attorney's Office agreed to a deal in which Sykes pleaded no contest to the corporal injury charge and the attempted murder and arson charges were dismissed.

Superior Court Judge Jon Rolefson sentenced Sykes last Thursday to two years in state prison, which was the term that was agreed upon in the deal.

Sykes's ex-girlfriend had been sleeping in a tent at the homeless encampment when Sykes set fire to it, Berkeley police Officer Webb Crabtree wrote in a probable cause statement. When she fled the tent, Sykes "punched her in the head and face, pulled her to the ground by her hair and choked her to the verge of
unconsciousness," Webb said.

Sykes' ex-girlfriend, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, had visible injuries, including bruising and swelling above her right eye, abrasions on her fight ear, red marks around her neck and upper chest and
also received a burn on her left ankle from the fire, according to Webb.

Police arrested Sykes at University Avenue and Second Street shortly after the attack. Sykes had a burn injury on his leg and admitted to police that he was present when his ex-girlfriend's tent caught fire, Webb wrote.

Sykes' long criminal record, which dates back to 1998, includes two convictions for receiving stolen property, two convictions for inflicting corporal injury to a partner's parent and one each for making criminal
threats and being an accessory to a crime.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock

Also See:

• 'Feisty' Kitten Clings To Undercarriage Of Speeding Police Cruiser
• California's 2017 National Merit Scholarship Winners: List
• John Muir Doctor Arrested In Sexual Assault Case
• Baby Otters Debut At Oakland Zoo