A 21-year-old Anchorage man was sentenced on Monday to 18 months in jail for his part in the brutal beating of a teenager in the basement of a vacant downtown house more than a year ago. All four men involved in the incident have now pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the assault.
Trevvor Trobough pleaded guilty to assault in Anchorage Superior Court on Friday during what was supposed to be a routine status hearing. He and three other men stood accused of assaulting James Clinton in September 2013.
All four of the defendants struck plea deals with the state in the past month; Trobough is the second to be sentenced.
Trobough appeared in court Monday wearing an orange Anchorage Correctional Complex jumpsuit. His hair was shaved close to the scalp. He hunched in his chair discussing his sentencing with public defender Evan Chyun before the hearing began.
Trobough was also sentenced Monday to 20 days of suspended jail time on a fourth-degree theft charge in a separate case.
For his involvement in Clinton's beating, Trobough was originally charged with four felonies that included various counts of assault and a single charge of hindering prosecution. As part of a plea deal, the state dismissed all but a second-degree assault charge.
Superior Court Judge Jack Smith imposed the year-and-a-half sentence. Troubough would be eligible for parole in a year; his sentence does not include probation. The court also ordered Trobough to pay an undetermined amount of restitution to Clinton.
Also charged in the alleged attack were 22-year-old Michael Liufau, 19-year-old Iosia Fiso and 21-year-old Tye Manning.
An investigation began when a tipster slipped a note under the door of the University of Alaska Anchorage Police Department the night of Sept. 16, 2013, according to the charges.
The note reportedly read that Clinton was "alone and dying" in an abandoned house. It also named three assailants, according to the charges. The tip led Anchorage police detective Jackie Conn to Liufau and Fiso, who were already in custody along with Manning for allegedly robbing a man at knife point in Town Square Park.
Liufau led officers to the abandoned house on Barrow Street, where they discovered Clinton lying at the bottom of stairs with a bruised, swollen face as well as cuts and bruises all over his body. He had been left in the house for two to three days, according to the charges.
Trobough was at the house when police arrived but allegedly refused to speak to them. He declined to speak when given the opportunity during Friday's change of plea, said assistant district attorney John Darnall.
According to Liufau's plea deal, he agreed to a sentence of six years with two years suspended as well as three years of probation. In exchange, the state dropped four additional felony charges. His sentencing is set for Jan. 5.
Manning changed his plea, and sentencing is set for Feb. 13.
Fiso pleaded guilty to a charge of hindering prosecution on Oct. 3 and received an 18-month sentence.
"Fiso did not assault Mr. Clinton," said assistant public defender Jeff Robinson.
Correction: This story originally stated Iosia Fiso pleaded guilty to assault in the case. He pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution.