Third Defendant in Julio Serrano Gang Assault Sentenced

A third defendant plead guilty to first-degree gang assault and was sentenced to eight years in prison, the same sentence his two accomplices received, for his role in the of Julio Serrano last year.

Keith Walker, 19, and three other young men viciously attacked Serrano, an Ecuadorian immigrant on May 15, 2010. The four chased Serrano into a vestibule and beat him almost to the point of death.

Serrano was in a coma for three weeks and underwent seven surgeries including one to repair a cranial fracture and another to remove his spleen. He also suffered brain damage, a broken cheek, a broken eye socket, a broken jaw and broken ribs.

Sligh was scheduled to be sentenced yesterday but his proceeding was postponed after he was arrested for allegedly attacking a correction officer at the Westchester County jail, Rebecca Baker of the Journal News reports.

The other two defendants involved in the attack Ronnie Juett, 23, and Jamar Walker, 20, both already plead guilty and are serving eight years each in state prison.

Read the full Journal News report here.