A Rochester resident accused in an assault where several party-goers were beaten with golf clubs has been sent to prison for more than four years and ordered to share in nearly $80,000 restitution.
Anthony Canty Jr., now 20, was 17 when he allegedly took part in the assault on June 22, 2013. He was charged in September that year in Olmsted County District Court with one count of first-degree assault; three counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon; and one count of second-degree riot, all felonies.
Canty pleaded guilty in March to the first-degree charge; the remaining counts were dismissed.
Judge Debra Jacobson sentenced him Monday to 51 months in prison; Canty will also pay part of $78,320.32 owed to the victim.
Christopher Lamar Smith and Esad Mujic, both 20, faced identical counts as Canty.
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Smith pleaded guilty in March 2014 to the first-degree count and two of the second-degree charges. He was sentenced in October to concurrent prison terms of 74 months, 34 months and 33 months, in addition to his share of more than $22,200 in restitution.
Mujic pleaded not guilty to all the charges in January 2014; a jury trial scheduled for Jan. 20, 2015, was canceled, but no additional action has taken place, court documents say.
According to the criminal complaints, Minnesota State troopers came across a large fight early that June morning near the intersection of 46th Avenue and Valley Drive Northwest.
Responding officers found two golf clubs and a baseball bat in the basement of a residence where a party was being held; nearby was a bloody shirt, and according to the criminal complaint, a bent golf club with blood on it was found outside.
An eyewitness told investigators that Mujic had been at the party earlier and had been asked to leave, but returned with two other people — Smith and Canty. He was later identified as the one using a golf club during the incident.
During an interview, Smith allegedly said he was with Canty, who received a phone call from Mujic. The two met Mujic at the party and a fight broke out, the report says. An eyewitness allegedly identified Canty in a photo lineup as the suspect who had a knife during the fight.
There were several victims, one of whom sustained a life-threatening brain injury and underwent surgery, according to the complaint.
