Man gets 11 years in attack on homeless

A 21-year-old Inglewood man who beat a sleeping homeless man with a baseball bat was sentenced to 11 years in prison Wednesday, as his victim graciously expressed compassion for his attacker.

Ernest Adams, 56, a long scar and scalp depression left by the attack visible through his black hair, told the court, “I do not have revenge in my heart” for Justin Edward Brumfield, who police said admitted to committing the crime after watching a “Bumfight” video depicting homeless men brawling.

Adams asked only that he not be stuck with the medical bills from the beating.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta told Brumfield his crime “shows you are a serious danger to society, which includes the homeless.” After the sentencing, Brumfield’s mother, Laurel Simpson, turned in her courtroom seat and passed a handwritten letter to Adams. The older man firmly grasped her hand, smiled warmly and told her to “Have a good day.”

Outside court, Simpson, who had remained composed, began to cry. Adams embraced her. She tore a piece off a manila file folder she was carrying, wrote her phone number on it and handed it to Adams. “Call me,” she said. “I want to speak with you.”

“It is unfortunate that Justin met Mr. Adams under these circumstances,” she told reporters. “He has so much wisdom and knowledge. I wish Justin had a friend like Mr. Adams instead of the friends he had.”

Brumfield nearly killed Adams by pummeling him with an aluminum bat as he slept on a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk in August 2005.

Brumfield and a friend, William Alexander Orantes, had first attacked Gerald McHenry, 38, as he slept at 9th and Wall streets, then moved to 3rd and Flower streets, where Brumfield found Adams and beat him severely enough to put him in a coma for three weeks.

Orantes pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in August and was sentenced to three years in prison. Prosecutors said he drove the two men downtown, but did not take part in the beatings.

A jury convicted Brumfield in July of two counts of assault and found he caused Adams great bodily injury and used a deadly weapon.

In court Wednesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Lebovich called for a tough sentence, saying, “This was done for sport against the most vulnerable people in society.”

Adams said he understood the reasons for Brumfield’s sentence, but regretted he would serve far more time than his accomplice. “I was disappointed by the disparity ... but I am obedient to jurisprudence,” he said.

Since the beating, Adams has moved to an apartment in Little Tokyo and has been studying for a real estate license. He said he was concerned that he might be responsible for paying for his brain surgery, which cost more than $100,000.

Ohta said he would later order Brumfield to pay Adams an unspecified amount in restitution.

Brumfield’s lawyer, Maynard Davis, said he was “not shocked” by the sentence and was not planning an appeal, though Brumfield has 60 days to decide.

Simpson said she felt Ohta ruled fairly, but had nevertheless hoped for a lighter sentence. “I know my son has a conscience ... he’s a good person,” she said.

At Davis’ request, Ohta agreed to recommend to state corrections officials that Brumfield serve his time as close to Los Angeles as possible, perhaps at a fire or work camp.

peter.hong@latimes.com