Six of seven teenagers accused in a September assault on a 16-year-old boy in McIntire Park pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony charges, according to Charlottesville police.
The seven individuals and the 16-year-old student victim all were Charlottesville High School students.
Assistant City Commonwealth's Attorney Elizabeth Killeen told the Daily Progress that two 15-year-old boys and a 14-year-old boy pleaded guilty to malicious wounding by mob Tuesday and will be sentenced Nov. 12 in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Those three minors currently are being held in Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center until their sentencing. They face a sentence of up to three years in the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice.
A 15-year-old girl pleaded guilty to the felony of attempted malicious wounding by mob Tuesday. Two other 14-year-old boys pleaded guilty to the same crime last week.
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Susan L. Whitlock ruled to reduce the charges for all three teens to misdemeanor assault and battery, provided they complete their sentences and maintain good behavior while on probation.
According to Charlottesville police detective Steve Hudson, all three of the youths are on probation and under house arrest until their sentencing.
"House arrest means that you have to stay at home. There's generally a monitoring system of some type," Hudson said. "So these people are in the residences of their parents right now."
Hudson said judges sometimes reduce charges for certain individuals.
"It all depends on one's level of involvement," Hudson said. "A lot of it is relative culpability that you had, for example how many blows you delivered."
The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor in Virginia is one year of incarceration and a $2,500 fine.
According to Hudson, City detective Lee Sidebottom testified that the assailants attacked the 16-year-old boy in McIntire Park while skipping school. The attack began after one assailant called the victim "a snitch."
She also said that one of the suspects urinated on the victim and another assailant took the victim's shirt and set it on fire.
The group of seven told police that they were in the "Belmont Crew."
City spokesman Maurice Jones said that the nature of the group's name is unclear.
Hudson said that the Belmont Crew is not necessarily a gang.
"There are statutory definitions of gangs, and they may or may not meet parts of that definition," Hudson said.
Killeen also told the Daily Progress that the trial of the seventh alleged assailant, a 16-year-old boy, will take place Tuesday in juvenile court. He is being held at the Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center.
The Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney could not be reached for comment.
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