[smurfalicious]

Dunbar rape suspect pleads guilty, gets 20 years

Monday, November 26, 2007

WEST PALM BEACH — A 16-year-old charged in the Dunbar Village gang rape agreed to spend 20 years in prison and testify against his friends to avoid three potential life sentences.

Jakaris Taylor was the first of four teenagers to accept a plea deal with prosecutors, but offers are on the table for the other three teenagers who are in jail awaiting trial. Taylor pleaded guilty to burglary and two counts of armed sexual battery while wearing a mask in the June 18 assault. He will get credit for the 130 days he already served in solitary confinement, according to the deal. He will also be branded a sexual predator. His lawyer, Chris Haddad, said Taylor is "a pretty bright kid" who wants a chance to have a family when he is released, likely in his early to mid-30s. "He has expressed remorse and regret for even being there," Haddad said. Assistant state attorney Lanna Belohlavek said the 35-year-old woman who was gang raped and forced to have sex with her 12-year-old son was consulted. And she was satisfied with the terms of the deal before it was signed on Monday, Belohlavek said.

"She's hoping by having this defendant testify against the others, she won't have to — nor will her son have to — go through the trauma of reliving it," Belohlavek said. But, she added, "They're willing to do what they need to do to see justice." Belohlavek said prosecutors considered Taylor's age of 15 at the time of attack, the lack of DNA evidence against him and his relatively limited role in the assault. His fingerprint was found inside the victim's apartment, while DNA linked other defendants to the home, Belohlavek said. She said she would not discuss plea deals involving other defendants unless they are approved and signed. A lawyer for one of the co-defendants said all four teenagers have been offered deals, and they're all different.

Robert Gershman said his client, Nathan Walker Jr., 17, was offered a plea that included more time in prison than Taylor was given. He declined to discuss specifics, and Walker has not made a decision. "You always have to consider it," he said.

Walker is scheduled for a court hearing today to discuss trial preparation including money for DNA tests, Gershman said.

The other defendants are Avion Lawson, 14, and Tommy Poindexter, 18. Up to six others involved in the attack have not been arrested.

According to Taylor's plea deal, his sentencing is deferred until Nov. 26 of next year to give him time to fulfill the terms of the agreement. If he does not testify truthfully against current or future defendants in the Dunbar case, the deal will be voided. Taylor gave a taped statement on Nov. 18, but it has not yet been made public.

Mayor Lois Frankel released a statement praising the state attorney's office and the police for doing a thorough investigation. She said she trusts the prosecutor's judgment that the deal was appropriate. The lurid details of the Dunbar Village attack turned the case into national news. The teenage attackers allegedly held the victims at gunpoint, poured chemicals on them and forced them to perform various sexual acts during three hours of torture. Taylor's mother could not be reached to talk about her son's fate because she is in Palm Beach County Jail. Jacqueline Minor, 34, has been incarcerated since Nov. 15 on $6,000 bond on charges of vehicle theft and driving on a suspended license. Reached Monday, Greg Lawson said his cousin Avion Lawson had heard Taylor was working out a deal and was mulling similar options.

"I don't even think they know what they (are) in. They don't know what all that time means. ... I would call that life," said Lawson, who was subpoenaed to be a witness in the case. "I'm worried about all of them." Staff writer Kathleen Chapman contributed to this story.

Interesting - the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Would he have committed this crime if he had been raised in a different environment?

Sad - this kid who plead out will be out of jail in 20 years (possibly less) knowing nothing of life but how to be a better criminal when he gets out.