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Kenneth Sommers was found guilty of the brutal beating Wayne Brown in the Rosemont Avenue neighborhood, on Wednesday, March 23, the office said. Sommers faces up to 30 years in prison for first degree assault, second degree assault and reckless endangerment.
Police responded to the assault, which happened in the 4200 block of Kolb Avenue around 4:13 p.m., on August 12, 2020, the office said.
Brown was found excessively bleeding and unresponsive on the ground when officers arrived. They learned that Sommers started beating Brown after ordering him to get out of his own car. Sommers proceeded to pull Brown out of his car and continued beating him, the office said.
Sommers then leaned down to Brown while he was unconscious and said, “I want you to look at me real quick, so you can remember me," according to the office. Sommers then kicked Brown in the head and later told police, “I wish I could have killed his a** honestly.”
Sommers said he also beat Brown with a car side mirror and air freshener can. These items were later recovered from Sommers’ car along with a pocketknife, the office said.
Brown stayed at John Hopkins Hospital for about 39 days where he was treated for multiple stab wounds, broken teeth and significant facial fractures, the office said.
Additionally, one of the officers involved in the case was charged with reckless endangerment and misconduct for not helping Brown, the office said.
Officer Christopher Nguyen “allegedly failed to properly supervise, secure or otherwise detain” Sommers while he was still attacking Brown, the office wrote in August 2020. This essentially “created a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to the victim” while they were incapacitated, the office continued.
The office alleged that Officer Nguyen “failed to place himself between the suspect and the victim,” and stop Sommers from uttering those threatening words. Officer Nguyen’s trial is scheduled to start on August 15 of this year.
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