BEAUMONT, Texas — The second of eight Southeast Texas men charged in the brutal 2023 beating of a man at a Beaumont gas station was sentenced Monday to 10 years in a Texas prison for his part in the beating that was caught on video.
Jamaal Keith Petry, of Beaumont, appeared Monday morning in Jefferson County's Criminal District Court before Judge John Stevens for sentencing as part of a plea deal.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The above video first aired on Oct. 4, 2023.)
Petry, who previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, was 22 at the time of the beating and faced from two to 20 years in prison on the charge.
He was arrested by Bridge City Police two days after the beating and had a gun on him when he was arrested according to prosecutor Jimmy Hamm during testimony on Monday.
It wasn't Petry's fight though he did jump into it and throw a punch before backing off, but he did not start or finish the fight his attorney said Monday during testimony.
Petry arrived at the gas station with his younger brother, Jameel Petry and an unidentified man who brandished an AK-47 rifle during the beating according to Hamm during Monday's testimony. He then left the fight in a vehicle along with his brother and the man with the AK-47 Hamm said.
Judge Stevens questioned Petry about his three children, asking sternly, "where were your children? Why were you not taking care of your family?"
Before imposing his sentence, Judge Stevens asked Petry if he had anything to say.
"I take full responsibility for my actions. I want to apologize," he replied. "I wasn't supposed to be there and I regret it."
Seven others were indicted in connection with the beating including Dakyrian Ray Beaty, 20 of Orange, who has already been sentenced.
The six other Beaumont men still awaiting adjudication in the case are all being held in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Some of them are also being held on other charges.
They include Petry's brother, Jameel Petry, 19, Deion Tyrell Brooks, 27, Carl Chopane, 23, Jaylen Foxall, 23, Ellis Thomas Tatum, Jr., 33 and Michaeal Tyrone Williams III, 26.
Surveillance video captured the scene at a Shell gas station on Concord Rd as a crowd surrounded the man and beat him early on Sunday, October 1, 2023.
Police responded to the scene around 3:29 a.m., Sunday, after receiving calls stating a man was on the ground bleeding from his head, according to a news release from the Beaumont Police Department.
The 22-year-old Conroe man was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The victim was able to speak to police the same day of the incident.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.