An Orange man faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to his involvement in what a prosecutor called a “three-on-one beatdown” that left a Shelton man in critical condition in March.
Andrew O’Connell, 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault before Judge Frank Iannotti at Superior Court in Milford.
Charges against two Shelton men arrested in the case — Daniel Zeleznik, 23, and Jason Terry, 26 — are still pending.
A plea deal in O’Connell’s case calls for a 10-year prison sentence to be suspended after a maximum of five years, with five years of probation.
At O’Connell’s sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 6, his lawyer, Public Defender David Egan, will have a right to argue for lesser or no jail time.
Authorities say the three men assaulted Jason Chevrier, 32, at the corner of Coram Avenue and Kneen Street in the early morning hours of March 18.
The beating was so severe that doctors at Bridgeport Hospital had to use seven staples to close a gash to Chevrier’s head and he lost most of his top row of teeth, according to an arrest warrant affidavit in the case.
Several witnesses told police Chevrier had been in the area of Howe Avenue and Kneen Street that day and night and had also spent time in several apartments at the “corner block,” an apartment building at the corner of Howe Avenue and Brewster Lane.
Outside the building just before midnight, witnesses told police Chevrier got into an argument with Zeleznik and Terry. O’Connell, a relative of Zeleznik’s roommate, was also in the area.
The men told Chevrier to leave, witnesses said. Instead, he picked up a two-by-four he found nearby and starting swinging it while claiming he would call the “Latin Kings” to fight them.
But when the three men came out of the building with weapons, Chevrier dropped the two-by-four and ran away, up Kneen Street. The group caught up with him near the intersection of Kneen Street and Coram Avenue.
“They engaged in a three-on-one beatdown” of Chevrier, Assistant State’s Attorney Charles Stango said in court Thursday.
Stango said Zeleznik and Terry beat and stomped on Chevrier’s face, and that O’Connell stomped on Chevrier’s chest.
Chevrier is still feeling the effects of the assault, the prosecutor said.
“He has recovered somewhat. He needs more medical treatment,” Stango said, noting that Chevrier has headaches daily and requires extensive dental work. “But he is out and trying to get better.”
A woman who declined to give her name but identified herself as O’Connell’s grandmother said after his court appearance Thursday that he had been caught up in a “wrong time, wrong place” situation.
“He’s just a good kid, without a record,” she said.
She said that because O’Connell was the least involved of the three suspects, she was hoping he’d avoid jail time in the case, but conceded “that’s not going to happen.”
O’Connell has been held on $100,000 bond since his arrest in March.
Terry has been held on $150,000 bond in the case since police arrested in April. His next appearance is scheduled for Oct. 10 at Superior Court in Milford.
Zeleznik posted $100,000 bond in the case. His next court date is Oct. 11.
