WEST PALM BEACH - Even for the crime-infested Dunbar Village public housing community, it was an unspeakable attack.
A week before trial was set to begin for two of the four teens charged in the 2007 crime -- that made international headlines for its brutality -- the youngest of the defendants pleaded guilty as charged today to all 14 counts against him.
The incident shined a spotlight on West Palm Beach's oldest public housing complex.
With no promises of leniency, Avion Lawson, 14 at the time and 16 now, agreed to cooperate fully and testify against co-defendants Nathan Walker, now 18; Jakaris Taylor, now 17; and Tommy Poindexter, now 20. Authorities say at least six other suspects remain at large.
Ten armed, masked men had forced their way into an apartment and over three hours raped and sodomized a woman while beating her 12-year-old son and forcing him to watch the savagery perpetrated on his mother. It ended with the mother and son being forced to have sex, then having household chemicals doused on them in an attempt to cover up the physical evidence.
Their truck and phone stolen, the victims walked a mile to Good Samaritan Medical Center for help.
Lawson's voice was barely audible as he stood beside his attorney, Bert Winkler, and his mother, Cathy Lawson, to accept responsibility for his crimes: eight counts of sexual battery by multiple perpetrators with a firearm while wearing a mask; burglary with assault with a firearm while wearing a mask; kidnapping and kidnapping a victim under 13, both with a firearm while wearing a mask; promoting sexual performance of a child with a firearm while wearing a mask; grand theft auto with a firearm while wearing a mask; and impairing or impeding a telephone.
Circuit Judge Krista Marx set Lawson's sentencing for Oct. 13, after Walker, Poindexter and Taylor's cases have gone to trial.
State sentencing guidelines vary greatly, anywhere from 49 years to 11 life sentences, according to the judge, who ultimately will decide whether Lawson deserves a break.
\"Avion wants very much to do the right thing,\" Winkler said afterward. \"He's taking responsibility for everything he did and is going to cooperate fully with the state and testify, if called.\"
Walker's attorney, Robert Gershman questioned Lawson's decision.
\"I was surprised he would plead straight up with no promises as to punishment and expose himself to multiple life sentences,\" Gershman said, adding that he doesn't think Lawson's testimony will affect his case. \"I think that his testimony will be the weakest evidence for the state. He's not to be believed. The statements he's made in the past and the issues he has discussed, I believe, are not congruent with the evidence.\"
Walker and Poindexter are set for trial Tuesday. Taylor is to follow Sept. 15. Public Defender Carey Haughwout, who represents Poindexter, declined to comment today. Taylor's attorney, Chris Haddad, was unavailable because of a death in the family.
Lawson is to be deposed by his co-defendants' lawyers on Monday morning. The first of the four arrested, Lawson initially confessed his involvement to West Palm Beach police after learning his DNA had been found on a condom left at the scene. The attackers wore masks and had hoped to steal money and jewelry that night, according to prosecutors. By the time Lawson was inside the two-bedroom apartment, he encountered the woman in bed with three other masked men around her, he said.
Lawson told police he participated in the sexual assault and then stole two video games and a truck. Police recovered the video games inside the Dunbar Village apartment of Lawson's grandmother, Johnnie Mae Wilkerson, with whom Lawson often stayed.
At the time of his arrest, Lawson was as seventh-grader at an alternative middle school. His mother, Cathy Lawson, sobbed after deputies led her son from the courtroom. To avoid the throng of media, Cathy Lawson left through a side door.
Though Avion Lawson pleaded guilty to all of the offenses, he didn't actually \"do each one,\" Winkler said, explaining that his client is guilty under something known as the principal theory, also known as being an accomplice.
\"He was involved . . . and he's very sorry for what he did and the role he played in this,\" Winkler said. \"We'll put our faith in Judge Marx to make a wise decision.\"
