Three men charged in the brutal 2013 attack of a man sleeping outside have admitted to their role in the man’s death.
In a plea deal, 26-year-old David Walent and 20-year-old Jerrick Blankenship pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Lewis Martin pleaded guilty to manslaughter, according to Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion.
The Anchorage Police Department says surveillance video showed the trio and another man punching, kicking and using a road sign to beat 50-year-old Ferdinand Marquez near the Anchorage Gospel Rescue Mission on Tudor Road in September 2013. A judge will decide their sentences.
Lewis Martin’s brother — 24-year-old Matt Martin — was previously sentenced to four years in prison for his role in the crime.
Walent told investigators the men attacked the 50-year-old because he believed Marquez had jumped him a few days before the beating.
