HONOLULU — A 23-year-old man accused of intentionally driving into a group of teens leaving a party on an Oahu beach has pleaded guilty.
Malik Morton pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree charges of assault, attempted assault and terroristic threatening for the May 2016 encounter that left two people injured at Ewa Beach, Hawaii News Now reported .
Under the plea agreement reached with prosecutors, attempted murder charges were dropped. Prosecutors will recommend that Morton serve 18 months behind bars, attorney Myles Breiner said. Morton has been incarcerated for 16 months, so he is expected to serve just two additional months.
Breiner said his client never intended to injure anyone, claiming he was trying to escape a racist attack.
Prosecutors claimed Morton was angry about an altercation from earlier that day.
As he was leaving the courtroom, Morton said he “was not a bad person” and “wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”
Morton’s car struck Alisa Brown and Ryan Ilar, causing serious injuries. The strike left Brown with skull and facial fractures, collapsed lungs, a broken arm and brain damage.
The Brown family said they were satisfied that Morton will face consequences.
“We have our daughter here today, so that’s the main thing,” said Lily Brown, the mother of Alisa Brown.
The family has forgiven Morton and is hopeful he can turn his life around, she said.
“What he did is wrong. He should have some kind of consequence for what he did,” Lily Brown said. “We hope and pray that it will not happen to any other family, that he’ll straighten up his life and not make another bad decision. We need to forgive in order for us to move on.”
Morton is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
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Information from: KGMB-TV, http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/
