PORT TOWNSEND — The sentencing of a 28-year old Port Orchard man convicted of three counts of assault was postponed Friday after his defense attorney was granted a continuance to re-evaluate the sentencing boundaries.
Kaleb Mayo was found guilty of one count of aggravated assault in the second degree and two counts of assault in the fourth degree after a seven-day trial and two hours of jury deliberation.
Mayo was accused of severely beating a man in 2011 and leaving him bloodied along the side of a road, then eluding law enforcement for months.
He also was accused of assaulting three other people.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Chris Ashcraft said he was surprised by both the length of the trial and the speed of the verdict last week.
Mayo was scheduled for sentencing Friday and could have received up to 10 years in prison for the assault of three people that left one of them, Lenard Marion, with serious injuries.
At the sentencing, defense attorney Adrian Pimentel, who was appointed by the court to represent Mayo, asked for a continuance because he sought to eliminate the aggravator clause in the verdict, which would decrease the sentencing range from about 10 years to 23 to 29 months.
“The aggravator clause allows the judge to go outside the standard range, but it does not apply in this case,” Pimentel said.
“The crimes that my client allegedly committed fall within the standard range, and the sentence should reflect that.”
Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser scheduled the sentencing hearing for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 9.
The assault occurred just after 3:30 a.m. Dec. 9.
Officers of the Port Townsend Police Department were dispatched to Harrison Street and found Marion badly beaten and lying in the road.
Three other people at a nearby residence also reported being assaulted by two men who ran away from the area prior to police arrival.
Mayo, who fled the area, was identified by bystanders and sought by police.
While he was at large, he told the Peninsula Daily News that he was acting in self-defense and was protecting his brother, Isaac Mayo, who himself was being assaulted.
Kaleb Mayo was at large until April 11, when he was apprehended by police who were serving a warrant in an unrelated case.
He has been in the Jefferson County jail since then.
During his time at large, Kaleb Mayo was the subject of a social media campaign by Marion’s friends to facilitate his capture.
The campaign stated several times that Kaleb Mayo was facing a “third strike” and would serve a long sentence if convicted.
“He was definitely not facing a third strike,” Pimentel said.
“That was on Craigslist, but that wasn’t true.
“We have been unable to find a source for that.”
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans said Kaleb Mayo was not facing a third strike because one assault charge was not prosecuted.
According to a court memorandum written by Ashcraft, Kaleb Mayo has been convicted of 10 separate crimes since November 2006, including six assault charges, tampering with a witness, possession of a stolen firearm as well as misdemeanor convictions for obstructing law enforcement and reckless endangerment.
Ashcraft said the aggravator clause should stand.
“Mr. Mayo has demonstrated that he is violent, he is explosive, he is unpredictable, he has a propensity of driving people to the ground and kicking them mercilessly,” Ashcraft said.
“All this shows that he is a continuing danger to the community.
“Mr. Mayo’s history shows that he is a remorseless time bomb that walks the streets ready to explode on whatever unwary person crosses his path.”
James Mayo, Kaleb’s father, said he didn’t think his son got a fair trial.
“With all the high-profile news stories, people already had their minds made up,” he said.
“Kaleb has a good heart, he was doing what he thought was right in protecting his family — that’s just who he is.”
Pimentel said if Verser does not remove the aggravator clause, he will have grounds for appeal.
“If the judge leaves that in, I’m certain I can get the whole thing thrown out,” he said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
