Teen gets life sentence for homeless killing

A man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for killing a homeless man with a baseball bat in 2006 and harming two others. One of the violent attacks was captured on video, outraging homeless advocates nationwide.

Thomas Daugherty, 19, received the sentence for his role in the death of Norris Gaynor. Prosecutors say Daugherty and 21-year-old Brian Hooks, who was to be sentenced Friday, hid baseball bats in their pants and sneaked up on homeless people.

Gaynor, 45, was sleeping on a park bench when the teens beat him so badly they broke his nose, five ribs and crushed his skull.

"I never meant for any of this to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen," a teary-eyed Daugherty told the Gaynor family. "I wasted a human life. I treated him as less than a human and I'm sorry."

Daugherty, who was 17 at the time of the beating, and Hooks were convicted last month of second-degree murder and two counts each of attempted second-degree murder.

Daugherty's defense attorney and family members painted a picture of a child wrecked by his upbringing, including his parent's divorce at a young age and his drug use from age 11.

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A third defendant, William Ammons, 21, pleaded guilty in May to felony murder and aggravated assault and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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Prosecutors said the teens were smoking marijuana and drinking vodka when they decided in the early hours of Jan. 12, 2006, to go cruising and "beat up some bums." They drove to three separate locations, first assaulting Jacques Pierre, 61, in an incident captured on video.

The ferocity of the assaults shocked homeless advocates, who said the video showed the dangers faced every night by those living on the streets.