Ambler man admits to knife assault in Lansdale

NORRISTOWN >> An Ambler man threw himself on the mercy of the court as he admitted to using a “fixedblade knife” to attack and seriously injure another man during a New Year’s Eve 2015 altercation outside a Lansdale residence.

Deshawn Newman, now 19, of the 200 block of Southern Avenue, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to a felony charge of aggravated assault, causing serious bodily injury, in connection with the 10:43 p.m. Dec. 31, 2015, incident outside a residence in the 500 block of Cypress Street in Lansdale.

The open guilty plea means Newman has no agreements with prosecutors as to what his punishment will be, leaving his sentence to the sole discretion of Judge Garrett D. Page.

Page deferred sentencing until court officials complete a background investigative report about Newman, a report that will include drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations.

Newman, who is represented by defense lawyer Abigail Leeds, faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines would allow for less jail time.

Newman, who remains free on bail and on electronic monitoring pending sentencing, was 17 years old at the time of the assault but was charged as an adult due to the serious nature of the crime. Newman told the judge he is currently enrolled in college.

Earlier this year, Newman lost a bid to transfer his case to juvenile court, where potential penalties are less severe.

Assistant District Attorney Benjamin McKenna vowed to seek jail time against Newman, citing the serious nature of the injuries to the 26-year-old victim.

“The victim suffered very deep lacerations to his face, broken facial bones and broken tendons in his fingers that incapacitated him. He had to have several surgeries on his face. He still has scars,” McKenna said. “The defendant was young when this happened but there needs to be accountability.”

An investigation began shortly before 11 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2015, when Lansdale police responded to the Cypress Street address for a reported assault. Upon arrival police found a male victim bleeding heavily from several wounds.

“(The victim) had three gaping wounds to the right side of his face as well as cutting wounds to the palms of both hands,” detectives wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.

The victim was transported to Abington Hospital for emergency treatment and later transferred to a hospital in Philadelphia. Police said the man suffered a broken jaw and severed tendons in his hand, and required surgery for facial nerve damage that was not able to be fully repaired.

While processing the Cypress Street crime scene, according to court documents, officers were called to the 700 block of Spruce Street for a report of a male with a knife who was covered in blood and seeking help after he claimed he had been “jumped.”

Responding officers made contact with Newman, who said he had been at the Cypress Street location but claimed he left to seek help after he had been punched, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Police recovered what they described as a “large, half-moon-shaped fixedblade knife with a wooden handle” covered in blood at Newman’s location, according to the criminal complaint. Newman was transported to an area hospital for treatment of bruises and small cuts to his face, according to police.

Police did not provide a motive for the attack nor indicate in court papers what prompted the altercation. Prosecutors contend the attack was unprovoked.

During a subsequent interview by detectives, Newman admitted he struck the man in the face while holding the knife.

“The results are life-altering and devastating for this victim,” McKenna said.