Man Who Beat Homeless Victims Will Not Be Retried

Prosecutors will drop an attempted murder charge against an Inglewood man convicted last month of beating two homeless men with a baseball bat, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Lebovich told a judge Tuesday.

A Los Angeles jury had convicted Justin Edward Brumfield, 20, of two counts of assault, but deadlocked on the attempted murder charge for the attack on Ernest Adams, 56. The assault convictions carry a possible sentence of nine to 11 years in prison.

Adams, who was plunged into a coma from the assault, said he was pleased that his attacker would not be retried.

“He can’t take prison. He’s too small,” Adams said of Brumfield.

Lebovich said he did not wish to comment on Brumfield’s case before he is sentenced.

“We got exactly what we requested,” Brumfield’s attorney, Maynard Davis, said of the prosecution’s decision.

Police said Brumfield and his alleged accomplice, William Orantes, told them they had been riled up by a “Bumfights” DVD of homeless men fighting before they attacked Gerald McHenry, 38, and Adams in August of last year. McHenry and Adams had been sleeping on sidewalks in downtown Los Angeles. Adams has since moved into an apartment in Little Tokyo.

Brumfield’s lawyer said his client attacked the men after learning that his biological mother was a homeless crack cocaine addict.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta ordered a psychological evaluation of Brumfield before his Oct. 30 sentencing.

As prosecutors announced their decision, Brumfield sat in court in a bright yellow jail pullover, his left wrist handcuffed to the armrest of his chair.

His adoptive father, M. Woodruff Johnson, said of the decision not to retry the attempted murder charge: “More than anything, we are relieved.”