EVERETT — Sorrow and anger filled a courtroom and spilled outside into the halls Tuesday as a Tulalip man was sentenced for beating a toddler to death last year.
Relatives of Damoniko Ashby pleaded with a judge to sentence James Fryberg to the maximum sentence. They called for justice for a little boy who his grandma said was going to grow up to play for the Seattle Seahawks.
Fryberg, 21, was sentenced to 11 years in prison — the most punishment he could legally receive under the facts of the case. He pleaded guilty last month to the May 2009 death of the toddler. He also admitted to robbing a pharmacy for prescription painkillers before he was captured by police who were hunting for him when he didn’t show up for a court hearing.
As part of the plea agreement, Fryberg agreed not to contest the maximum sentence under the state’s guidelines.
Superior Court Judge Linda Krese explained that under the law she had no authority to sentence Fryberg to more time. The defendant had pleaded guilty, therefore a jury wasn’t asked to determine if there were aggravating factors to warrant a sentence beyond the standard range, she said.
The boy’s family wanted Fryberg to be sentenced to life in prison. Krese recognized that they would be unhappy with the sentence. She also acknowledged that Fryberg committed a terrible crime against a vulnerable victim whose well-being was in his hands.
Fryberg apologized on Tuesday.
“There’s no excuse for what I did,” he said.
As part of a plea agreement, Fryberg described how on May 14, 2009, he rapped Damoniko on the head with his knuckles and jabbed the child in the stomach with his outstretched fingers.
Damoniko was under Fryberg’s care while the boy’s mother was away at work. The toddler died a few hours later. Fryberg initially told the mother and investigators that Damoniko had fallen down some stairs inside the apartment. An autopsy determined the toddler suffered multiple blows to the head and had severe hemorrhaging in the abdomen.
The boy’s grandmothers told Krese that they were heartbroken. Damoniko was a lovable child, whose first smile, first steps and first words filled them with joy.
“He was the most beautiful gift that God could have given our family,” his grandmother Linda Martini said.
His other grandmother, Cynthia McKinney, had harsh words for Fryberg. She said he is a “waste of space.” Why didn’t he just leave the boy alone?
The judge had to stop the hearing several times as relatives yelled out in court. Several people were asked to leave after hurling insults and threats at Fryberg. A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy led one woman out of the court after she refused to stop interrupting the judge.
Tensions among relatives of the dead boy erupted into a scuffle outside the courtroom. County court marshals were forced to separate people.
“Today is about Damoniko. We shouldn’t be fighting,” yelled a woman who was trying to diffuse the situation.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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