MIAMI COUNTY — Another Sidney man has been sentenced in connection with a bar fight that took place at The Brewery in Troy in May 2015. Dezmond Hudson, 22, of Sidney, was sentenced to three years in prison in Miami County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday morning for second-degree felonious assault.
There was some confusion at the beginning of Hudson’s hearing if he was going to go forward with his motion to withdraw his plea of no contest. Hudson, instead, decided to withdraw his request for a motion to withdraw his plea of no contest. The court then went forward with a sentencing hearing as a pre-sentencing investigation had already been completed.
“He felt badly for the injuries that occurred,” Hudson’s attorney Steve Layman said. Layman stated that the initial altercation began over a family member and the situation escalated.
“I’m sorry for everything I did,” Hudson said. Hudson apologized multiple times, adding, “I won’t be put in a situation like that ever again.”
Hudson also claimed that he was trying to protect his mother.
“I was just protecting her in my eyes,” Hudson said. “When I realized what I was doing, I stopped … I never meant to cause any serious harm.”
This offense was Hudson’s first felony charge. Hudson stated that he has never been in this type of trouble before. Layman asked the court to take Hudson’s lack of a violent criminal history into consideration.
“I’m not a violent person,” Hudson said. “I’m not that type of person.”
“The defendant does have some fairly consist contact with the criminal justice system,” Judge Christopher Gee said, adding that Hudson’s criminal history was “relatively minor.”
In regard to recidivism factors, Judge Gee stated that a non-prison sentence would adequately protect the public, but the court had to take the seriousness of the crime into consideration. According to Gee, the victim had suffered “extreme” violence and a considerable economic impact.
The victim was not present during the sentencing hearing, but he did submit a victim impact statement. According to Gee, the reported incident left the victim with eight broken ribs, a broken nose, a punctured lung, and lacerations on his hands, among other injuries. The victim was also not able to work for approximately a month.
Gee stated that Hudson appeared to be an active participant in the “brutal assault” in the surveillance footage of the incident.
“You were stomping on him when he was on the ground,” Gee said, stating the victim was not a threat at that point.
Gee stated that a non-prison sentence would demean the seriousness of the charge.
“Mr. Hudson, I take no joy in sending you to prison,” Gee said, adding that Hudson’s responsibility for the event “has to start now.”
Hudson is also required to pay approximately $3,400 on restitution.
