A vicious beating that happened on the steps of Millican Hall in October wrapped up in court on Thursday, with jail time for Matthew Cody Shehorn, who was a UCF student at the time of the attack.
Shehorn plead guilty at the Orange County Courthouse as a youthful offender for felony battery charges towards the victim, UCF student Dylan Lawson.
Circuit Judge Mark S. Blechman sentenced Shehorn to six months at the Orange County Jail.
On top of jail time, Shehorn was sentenced with five years of probation, 208 community service hours, no contact with the co-defendant and a psychological evaluation. He must also remain sober, attend Alcoholics Anonymous, pay restitution costs and write an apology to Lawson within the first two weeks of his release.
The incident all started on Oct. 9 when Lawson accidentally stepped on the hand of one of the males involved in the altercation, according to UCF. Shehorn responded by knocking the victim unconscious, then continually stomping and kicking the victim’s head into the stairs, according to the arrest affidavit.
Lawson’s mother spoke at the hearing. She said that cost of the assault was “immeasurable” and that she was thankful her son is alive.
Speaking about his client, Shehorn’s attorney, Richard Rhodes, said that the event was “not a characteristic of his normal behavior.” He also said that the incident would not have occurred if Shehorn had not consumed alcohol and stated his client joined AA.
To support Rhodes’ statement, Shehorn had multiple character witnesses in his defense.
Raw video of judge sentencing Shehorn:
At the end of the hearing, Shehorn faced Lawson and his family and apologized for his actions directly.
Shehorn was taken out in handcuffs, directly to the Orange County Jail.
