Kevin Harrigan, Kathryn Knott, and Philip Williams, the three individuals charged with various counts of aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy for their role in a brutal attack on a gay couple 10 months ago that left one victim with facial fractures and a jaw that had to be wired shut, are considering plea deals, Philly Mag reports:
Cameron Kline, spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, says that the office does not comment on plea offers but tells us that if convicted on all charges, the maximum sentence could be as high as 34 to 68 years in prison, though no one expects that the judge would hand out anywhere near the maximum sentence, especially considering that these are first offenses.
None of the attorneys nor the D.A.'s office would comment on the specifics of the plea offer, so we asked prominent Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Chuck Peruto to walk us through the thought process.
“If they can tell who did what exactly, a good deal for the guy that did the most damage is two to four years state time,” says Peruto. “And the ones that did minimal damage, maybe 11-1/2 to 23 months in county. If my clients got an offer like that, they'd probably take it. This is Philadelphia and you don't want a gay-bashing case as a criminal defense attorney. There are a lot of gay people here, and you can't tell who is gay on your jury.”
Jury selection is set to begin in September or October if no plea deals are reached.
