An Indiana teenager was sentenced on Tuesday to nine years in prison for brutally assaulting a minor over the alleged theft of a vape cartridge.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Fox 55 Fort Wayne, Quintin Mansfield, 18, was with three people in his apartment and became agitated when he could not find his THC vape cartridge. He searched the apartment, eventually demanding everyone empty their pockets.
Mansfield claims he saw the victim remove an item from his sock and toss it into a nearby laundry basket. When he searched the basket, Mansfield found the cartridge, then engaged the victim in an argument that quickly escalated into violence.
Mansfield, who claims he "blacked out" at the time the physical assault began, told police he punched the victim "five or six times" while witnesses say the victim covered his head. The victim's earring was ripped off during the assault, which ended when the victim lost consciousness. A witness told police the victim did not fight back.
The same witness recalled that, after the fight, they threw water on the victim to "wake him up," but when his eyes opened, he only stared blankly.
According to court documents, a doctor reported that the victim sustained a traumatic brain injury with irreversible damage, leaving him in life-threatening condition.
Mansfield pled guilty to aggravated battery and was sentenced to nine years for the Level 3 Felony.
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