The teenagers who viciously attacked a good Samaritan in North Buffalo last May have plead guilty to serious charges. Most of defendants are facing lengthy prison sentences.
A bystander with a cell phone caught the attack of the 66-year-old James LeGrand on video.
"It's pretty disturbing. They're just attacking this guy, pummeling this guy for no reason...It makes you shake your head and wonder what we're becoming as a society," said Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita.
Sedita says the victim, a longtime member of the Mayor's Impact Team, was attacked when he tried to break up a fight in Shoshone Park between two teenage girls. Sedita says the video was key in getting the nine teenagers to plead guilty to Assault in the Second Degree, which is a felony.
"We were on the eve of presenting this matter to a grand jury and I think the defense attorneys talked some sense into their clients. You have a much better chance of receiving a more lenient sentence if you plead guilty and you plead guilty early in the process," Sedita said.
When they are sentenced in January, six of the teens prosecuted as adults could face up to seven years in state prison. The other three could face up to 18 months in a juvenile delinquent facility.