Detroit resident Paris Strickland was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison and one year of probation for her role in the brutal assault of Ryah Kelly in a Spartan Village parking lot last year.
Strickland was granted Holmes Youthful Trainee Act or HYTA status by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina of the Ingham County Circuit Court, which allows young people convicted of certain crimes a chance to have no criminal record if they complete a special probation.
Strickland will also be placed in a lower security prison with other HYTA inmates.
Prosecuting attorney Kim Hesse said Strickland was responsible for pepper spraying the victim on the night of the attack and recommended Judge Aquilina not grant HYTA status.
“There has to be some sort of penalty for this behavior,” Hesse said. “If you do HYTA and probation, it seems like a slap on the wrist.”
Strickland’s attorney attempted to sway Judge Aquilina by arguing his client only used pepper spray to break up the group of fighting women.
Ultimately, Judge Aquilina said her sentencing decision was a difficult one to make because of the varying roles each defendant played in the assault.
“This particular case is difficult for me,” she said. “But you have to learn a lesson from this.”
On top of her sentence, Strickland will have to pay her share of restitution to the victim totaling $7,867.
Brittani Barber-Gribble and Tierra Hubbard are scheduled for sentencing hearings later this month.
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