Black Teen Who Beat Up White Macy’s Employee Avoids Jail Time For A Surprising Reason
An 18-year-old student who allegedly knocked a Michigan Macy’s store supervisor to the ground and punched him numerous times may not be facing any jail time.
The incident, which happened on June 15 inside the Genesee Valley Mall in Flint Township and was caught on video, went viral with Donald Trump commenting about it on Twitter.
“Looks what's going on here,” he wrote. “Where are the protesters? Was this man arrested?”
At a hearing on Wednesday (August 12), the defendant Damire Palmer said that his brother, 22-year-old Damarquay Palmer, had lied to him and said the store manager called him the n-word. “The statement that (my brother) made was untrue and I swung on him for no reason,” Palmer said. Damire Palmer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to assault with intent to do great bodily harm, a felony that would carry a 10 year sentence.
However, under a plea deal, Palmer may receive no time in jail because the 50-year-old man he beat up did not want to testify and send Palmer to prison. Probation will now be his likely sentence. When his likely probation ends, Palmer will not have the felony on his record. Instead, it will be replaced with a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault.
Palmer’s fate now rests in the hands of a circuit court judge. Prosecutor David Leyton says he could be handed anything from probation to 10 years in prison, according to the Daily Mail.
“Nobody's looking to hang felonies on young men,” said Leyton. “I never have and I never will. This was a bad crime though, and he has to face the consequences.”
Palmer will be sentenced on September 1.
