John McShea, 18, of Bayonne was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison for his role in the beating of Dawid Strucinski on July 3, 2011.
McShea, who was the last of 11 defendants to be sentenced and the only given time in jail, was among a pack of teens that attacked Strucinski during group dispute near the Quick Chek on Broadway in the early morning hours. Strucinski, a very popular resident of Bayonne and then a student at Rutgers University, apparently tried to break up a dispute and became the target of attack that left him in a coma for almost a month. Though he regained consciousness, reports say he has become withdrawn and still needs help with dressing and eating.
McShea pleaded guilty in October to second-degree aggravated assault and received a five-year sentence from Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale on Feb. 22, less than the maximum seven-years he could have received.
A statement issued to the court said that Strucinski’s family is in financial straits in an attempt to pay the medical bills and are on the verge of losing their home. Family members, according to published reports, may be preparing a civil suit against the attackers. – Al Sullivan