Spokane Man Guilty In Beating Convicted Of Second-Degree Assault

A Spokane man who beat another man unconscious earlier this year was convicted Thursday of second-degree assault.

A Superior Court jury deliberated about six hours before convicting Dale A. Simmons, 18, of hitting his victim in the head with a brick, then kicking him in the face repeatedly.

Simmons testified that he thought the victim, 17-year-old Theodore Stewart, was a member of a California gang when the attack occurred. He claimed the attack was self-defense.

On Jan. 9 this year, both men were at a house on the West 2000 block of Sinto, police said. A woman friend of Simmons’ told him that Stewart had choked her.

Simmons went outside and after talking briefly with Stewart, hit him with the brick.

Police found Stewart unconscious and took him to Sacred Heart Medical Center. For several days they didn’t know his identity until his mother learned of the attack.

He remained unconscious at the hospital for nearly three weeks.

After his arrest, Simmons was charged with first-degree assault.

Simmons’ attorney, Terrence Ryan, told jurors Simmons had attacked Stewart. But he argued that the beating fit the description of second-degree assault.

The jurors agreed, deciding that the injuries to Stewart didn’t match the criteria of first-degree assault - probability of death or permanent disfigurement.

Simmons will be sentenced on Sept. 18.