Shaun Deberry signed a plea agreement this week in connection with his role in the Sept. 8, 2024 assault on a man in the alley behind City Bar at 709 Central Ave.

Deberry was 19 at the time of the assault and was initially charged with a felony count of aggravated assault, which prosecutors upgraded to accountability for attempted deliberate homicide.

Deberry is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on Sept. 24 and under the agreement, will plead guilty to accountability for robbery.

Pherigo takes plea in downtown assault; others involved have upcoming trials

A person convicted of that charge faces a prison term of not less than two years or more than 40 years and may be fined up to $50,000.

Prosecutors aren’t making a sentencing recommendation, but the victim, Jake Krause, who was 37 at the time of the assault and suffered a brain injury, is expected to testify.

A person convicted of accountability to attempted deliberate homicide faces life in prison, or a term of not less than 10 years or more than 100 years, but it also requires prosecutors to prove intent, according to the Cascade County Attorney’s Office.

Ethanel Pherigo and Jesse Edwards, Jr., were also charged in the incident.

Pherigo was 19 at the time of the time of the assault and Edwards was 14.

Juvenile’s charge upgraded to attempted homicide in Sept. 8 assault case [2024]

Pherigo was scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11, but there was a scheduling conflict for attorneys on the case and that attorney then had a family emergency.

His sentencing hasn’t yet been rescheduled.

Pherigo appeared in court for a June 4 status hearing, after signing a plea agreement over the winter, but then firing his attorney and prosecutors thought he was considering withdrawing his guilty plea.

Two more charged in Sept. 8 assault; two women charged in connection with missing 12-year-old [2024]

During the June 4 hearing, Pherigo told his new attorney, Sam Harris, that he was ready to proceed with his case.

Since he signed an agreement to plead guilty to robbery in exchange for the state dropping the aggravated assault charge, the case moved to sentencing and the prosecution is recommending 40 years in the Montana State Prison.

During the June 4 hearing, Harris said they were prepared to move to sentencing, but Ryan Ball said the prosecution wasn’t yet prepared since they had several people to testify about the effects of the assault, including the victim.

Weekend crime roundup: man charged for stomping on man’s head in alley; man charged for carrying gun near mall; woman charged for hitting another in the head with a rock

According to prosecutors, Pherigo’s family was also planning to attend his sentencing hearing.

Edwards was 14 at the time of the assault and was initially charged with felony aggravated assault in juvenile court.

Prosecutors upgraded his charge to deliberate attempted homicide last fall, but his case is still pending as the court determines whether to try him as an adult or a youth.

A transfer hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23, but that could change as it has several times already.

Weekend crime roundup: man charged for stomping on man’s head in alley; man charged for carrying gun near mall; woman charged for hitting another in the head with a rock