Utash Expected To Write Letter To Judge Addressing Sentencing In Case Of Mob Beating

DETROIT (WWJ) - Five men have accepted plea deals and avoided trial in the angry mob beating of Steven Utash -- a local truck driver.

As WWJ's Kathryn Larson reports, a close family friend says Utash is having a hard time as he recovers from his injuries but he is planning to write a letter to the judge in the case that he hopes will be considered during sentencing.

"It's like an emotional roller-coaster ride; one day is good, one day is bad," said a 25-year old mom in Clinton Township and self-described close family friend.

She said when she was in need Utash helped her by providing a house for her and her family. She says she worries daily about how 54-year-old Utash will cope physically and financially as his Go Fund Me site only covers medical expenses.

"He can't pay his house bills or his food bills. He could go buy a car but you can't buy food," she laments.

She said she hopes fundraising efforts will continue for the soft-spoken man who would fight for everyone else but himself.

It's unlikely that Utash will be in the courtroom for sentencing against the men who beat him but would like to be heard through written word.

The three men admitted they participated in the attack on Utash, who got out of his truck to help a young boy he'd hit with his pickup truck in April.

Utash spent days in a coma and was sent home in May after six weeks of hospitalization after the beating in which witnesses said up to a dozen people took part. He's still recovering from a brain injury.

The boy Utash struck with his truck was treated for a broken leg.

The case captured the attention of the nation as local leaders called out the black community and activists for their silence following the attack.

[Catch up on case HERE].