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Spartanburg man gets life for 2008 tire-iron beating
http://www.goupstate.com/article/2010060...re-iron-beating
ALLENDALE — A 44-year-old Spartanburg man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the brutal beating of a man who had taken him in and given him a job.
It took a jury about 20 minutes to convict Raymond Burnette of one count of assault and battery with intent to kill for the June 13, 2008, tire-iron beating of John “Jackie” Fisher, 60, of Spartanburg, who operated a tree-trimming business.
Fisher had hired Burnette from a mission in Spartanburg to join his crew as they cleared fallen trees left by a tornado near Allendale. Burnette lied about his previous tree-climbing experience and was chastised a few times by his boss at the job site, according to a news release from the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Isaac Stone III.
On the morning of the assault, employees were unable to reach Fisher, the release states.
They later found him bloodied and disoriented inside his Allendale Motor Court motel room. The room was covered in hair and blood. The Allendale Police Department called in the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate.
“It was gruesome,” Assistant Solicitor Tameaka Legette stated in the release.
Burnette was arrested a short time later walking down the highway toward the motel. DNA evidence on his shirt matched the victim, and Burnette confessed during a jailhouse interview.
A witness told the court he had sold Burnette a small amount of crack cocaine at the motel prior to the beating. Burnette then disappeared for an hour. He showed back up wearing different clothes and proceeded to buy approximately $500 worth of more drugs, the release states.
Fisher spent 48 days in a coma. He now has a speech impediment and has lost some of his motor skills.
“His life will never be the same,” said Legette. “He lost his business, memories, and a Dodge Ram pick-up truck he loved dearly. Further, a family member had to take him in. He's lost just so very much from what began as an act of kindness to someone who was down and out. I am thankful, however, that he has family and friends who love, support and stand by him.”
Judge J. Ernest Kinard passed down the life without parole sentence based on Burnette's criminal history. He had been convicted in 1998 of carjacking and attempted murder in Florida, an incident in which he stabbed a taxi-cab driver in the chest.
“The only reason Mr. Burnette hasn't killed anyone is because of God's grace and mercy,” said Legette. “Mr. Fisher is a tough, old bird.”
http://www.goupstate.com/article/2010060...re-iron-beating
ALLENDALE — A 44-year-old Spartanburg man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the brutal beating of a man who had taken him in and given him a job.
It took a jury about 20 minutes to convict Raymond Burnette of one count of assault and battery with intent to kill for the June 13, 2008, tire-iron beating of John “Jackie” Fisher, 60, of Spartanburg, who operated a tree-trimming business.
Fisher had hired Burnette from a mission in Spartanburg to join his crew as they cleared fallen trees left by a tornado near Allendale. Burnette lied about his previous tree-climbing experience and was chastised a few times by his boss at the job site, according to a news release from the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Isaac Stone III.
On the morning of the assault, employees were unable to reach Fisher, the release states.
They later found him bloodied and disoriented inside his Allendale Motor Court motel room. The room was covered in hair and blood. The Allendale Police Department called in the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate.
“It was gruesome,” Assistant Solicitor Tameaka Legette stated in the release.
Burnette was arrested a short time later walking down the highway toward the motel. DNA evidence on his shirt matched the victim, and Burnette confessed during a jailhouse interview.
A witness told the court he had sold Burnette a small amount of crack cocaine at the motel prior to the beating. Burnette then disappeared for an hour. He showed back up wearing different clothes and proceeded to buy approximately $500 worth of more drugs, the release states.
Fisher spent 48 days in a coma. He now has a speech impediment and has lost some of his motor skills.
“His life will never be the same,” said Legette. “He lost his business, memories, and a Dodge Ram pick-up truck he loved dearly. Further, a family member had to take him in. He's lost just so very much from what began as an act of kindness to someone who was down and out. I am thankful, however, that he has family and friends who love, support and stand by him.”
Judge J. Ernest Kinard passed down the life without parole sentence based on Burnette's criminal history. He had been convicted in 1998 of carjacking and attempted murder in Florida, an incident in which he stabbed a taxi-cab driver in the chest.
“The only reason Mr. Burnette hasn't killed anyone is because of God's grace and mercy,” said Legette. “Mr. Fisher is a tough, old bird.”
