UPDATE for Jan. 21: Ahmed Mohamed,22, was sentenced today to 69 months in prison (5 and 3/4 years)after pleading guilty to first degree robbery and malicious harassment charges. The sentencing was handed down by King County Superior Court Judge Carol Shapira. Mohamed's co-defendant Jonathan Baquiring's trial is scheduled to begin of Feb. 22 according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.
In the case of 16-year-old Shane McClellan’s beating on the night of May 25, 2010 in West Seattle, one of the two alleged attackers pleaded guilty to his charges, according to court documents.
McClellan, who is white, was attacked and tortured on a set of stairs on the corner of Holden s.w. and 14th Ave s.w. over four hours by two men, one African American (Mohamed) and one Pacific Asian (allegedly Jonathan Baquiring). The attack received national attention as a hate crime since one of the attackers screamed racial slurs about McClellan being white while he was beaten.
For more background on McClellan’s attack, please check out the Herald story, Charges filed against Shane McClellan’s alleged attackers.
In December, defendant Ahmed Mohamed, 22, signed a plea deal admitting to the robbery and malicious harassment of McClellan. He is expected to serve three to four years for first degree robbery with one year added on for use of a deadly weapon (a knife). He was sentenced to one year for the malicious harassment charge, which will be served concurrently with the robbery sentence.
In the plea deal, Mohamed wrote, “Specifically, I along with Jonathan Baquiring robbed Shane McClellan by stealing items from his pockets while threatening to cap him, whipping him with his belt and burning him with cigarettes. We also displayed a knife with a several inch blade, held it to his neck and threatened to cut his throat. We targeted McClellan because he was a different race than we are.”
Mohamed continued, “… I inflicted bodily injury on Shane McClellan and ... I was armed with a deadly weapon, specifically a knife and maliciously and intentionally because of my perception of his race, caused physical injury to Shane McClellan and placed Shane McClellan in reasonable fear of harm to his person and to his property.”
Mohamed will be officially sentenced on Jan. 31 before Judge Carol Schapira at the King County courthouse, according to Dan Donohoe with the prosecuting attorney’s office.
His alleged accomplice in the attack, Jonathan Baquiring, 21, has not pleaded guilty and his trail is set for Feb. 22.
