SALEM — Latia Harris, captured on video savagely beating another Salem woman as the victim's young son tried to intervene last year, is headed to prison.
Harris, 26, was sentenced Friday afternoon to three years in New Jersey State prison on the aggravated assault charge by Superior Court Judge Benjamin Telsey.
"This was a vicious attack, " Telsey said. "She beat a young woman helplessly on her back with her young child, this victim's child, right next to her."
Harris's prison sentence is part of a plea deal worked out with Salem County Prosecutor's Office. Harris must serve 85 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole.
Harris' attorney, public defender Joseph Neal, had filed motions to withdraw the plea deal and a second that sought of modify it.
Telsey rejected the requests.
Telsey reminded Harris that she had willingly agreed to the plea deal and passed up her chance to have a trial by jury.
Prosecutor Lisa Rastelli echoed Telsey's comments, and urged the court to not change the agreement "at the eleventh hour."
"She had the right to a trial, but she took a plea," Rastelli said.
The sentencing Friday was the apparent end to the high-profile case which began on the night of June 24, 2014 in the city on a path behind the McDonald's restaurant on East Broadway.
The encounter between Harris and the victim, Catherine Ferreira, then 27, also of Salem was captured on cell phone video by one of several bystanders who witnessed the beating and then posted the video on social media.
Ferreira reportedly had been spreading rumors about Harris being romantically linked with a coworker at the restaurant, something believed to have angered Harris and which lead to the attack.
Ferreira visited the McDonald's on the night of June 24 with her then two-year-old son. When Ferreira left, Harris followed her to a path that leads from the McDonald's to the Harvest Point apartments on Grieves Parkway where Ferreira lives.
The video shows Harris attacking Ferreira and throwing her to the ground. She punches, kicks and curses at Ferreira before spitting on her as she leaves. Harris also threatened Ferreira's son at one point as the little boy kicked Harris in the shins apparently trying to get Harris to leave his mother alone.
ALSO: Man threatened woman with gun in Salem home invasion, indictment says
The severity of the attack by Harris — still clad in her McDonald's uniform — was shocking, but what caused unease among many was the fact that none of the bystanders came to Ferreira's aid. They simply stood by and watched — and recorded the incident.
Ferreira ended up with numerous bruises and cuts on her face and a broken nose.
After the beating Harris fled the city before finally turning herself in to local police on June 30. She was jailed, but eventually made bail.
With the two motions by Neal denied, Telsey proceeded with sentencing Friday.
Asked if she had anything to say, Harris told Telsey: "I don't agree."
Harris, her voice breaking, said she took the plea deal because "higher numbers were thrown at me."
That apparently was a reference to the sentence she could have faced if she had gone to trial and been found guilty.
"Am I going to jail today?" Harris asked. "I have two babies."
"Yes," Telsey said.
He said said it was ironic Harris was worried about her children, but showed no concern for Ferreira's tiny son who tried to stop Harris from beating his mom.
He said her actions were simply "callous" and "mean."
Ferreira was not in court to witness the sentencing on Friday.
It was revealed that Ferreira had not given any victim statement for the court to consider. She had, however, submitted a claim for medical bills for $457.97.
It was noted in court that Harris had agreed to pay that claim.
Sentencing for Harris had been scheduled for the summer but was postponed twice until Friday.
There is a possibility of an appeal being filed on Harris' behalf.
After the sentencing, Neal said he could not comment.
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow South Jersey Times on Twitter @TheSJTimes. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Woman captured in Salem beating video gets 3 years in prison - Latia Harris, captured on video savagely beating another Salem woman as the victim's young son tried to intervene last year, is headed to prison. via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1RmIsXW
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment