16-year-old gets 8 years for his part in brutal Five Points attack

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Another person responsible for the beating of Carter Strange had his day in court Monday.

16-year-old Delarrett Canzater was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. He will serve at least 85 percent of the sentence and get credit for time served.

Prosecutors said he admitted to kicking Carter twice when he was on the ground. He faced up to 20 years in prison.

"Carter is not the same. He's still fighting. There must be accountability," said Carter's mother Vicki Strange in court. "Delarrett, you will be in my prayers. I hope you change. But you must be held responsible."

Canzater's mother tearfully apologized in court saying her son is a good kid who "got off track."

Strange, who was 18 at the time, was beaten and left for dead as he was jogging through a parking lot near the intersection of Blossom Street and Saluda Avenue just after midnight on June 23, 2011.

Police said Thyeem Henrey and the seven juveniles were roaming Five Points that night, targeting others until they came across Strange. In fact, investigators said the group tried unsuccessfully to rob or assault at least four other people.

After the beating, the Dreher High School graduate managed to make it a block down the road to Edisto Avenue, where a passerby found him two hours later and called 911. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.

Family members said Strange had to have emergency brain surgery shortly after the attack. Since then, Strange has gone through several surgeries and two years of reminders of what happened to him.

The incident left the Strange family with over $80,000 in medical expenses.

Henrey, who was 19-years-old at the time of the beating, pleaded guilty to assault and battery and criminal conspiracy. He's serving 15 years.

One more defendant is awaiting trial.

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