By Shereen Siewert

A fourth suspect convicted in the brutal beating of a 15-year-old Wausau boy was given a suspended sentence on Tuesday, giving him a chance to avoid prison time if he completes seven years of probation.

Michael Hrobsky, of Weston, was convicted Nov. 3 in Marathon County Circuit Court of child abuse-intentionally causing great bodily harm by use of a dangerous weapon, as part of a plea agreement. Hrobsky, now 18, was sentenced Feb. 2 following a presentencing investigation. Also convicted in connection with the beating are Jordan Meyer, Brendan Griffin and Benjamin Dickerson.

At Hrobsky’s sentencing, Circuit Judge Mike Moran ordered a four-year prison term followed by three years extended supervision for Hrobsky, but stayed the prison sentence in lieu of probation. Hrobsky will also spend one year in jail.

According to the criminal complaint:

  • Police responded at 10:29 p.m. July 1 to the 600 block of Chicago Avenue after a resident reported he was watching a movie in his living room when he heard a loud “ting” of a baseball bat, then saw people getting out of a dark-colored sedan. The witness then saw the victim down on the ground being beaten by members of the group before they fled the area.
  • While medics attended to the victim, investigators spoke with a second 15-year-old boy who said he and the victim were walking from a friend’s house when they saw a car parked on the north side of the street and heard someone from inside the car yell, “hey, what’s up?” As the teens approached the car and had a brief conversation with a person inside the car, three other teens came up around the car and hit both boys. One boy escaped, taking off running, but the other boy fell to the ground and continued being beaten.
  • About 10 days later, investigators spoke with another witness who told police he had observed a SnapChat social media post on the day of the attack of four males wearing bandanas covering their faces and holding baseball bats. The witness identified all four people in the media post who were later charged.
  • A second witness told police he spoke with the four suspects on the day of the attack and he became aware that the boys were going somewhere to beat someone up. Later, he saw the teens again and heard them brag about “having beaten someone up.”

The mother of the victim told Wausau Pilot and Review last year that her son spent weeks in the intensive care unit but has since been released. Her name is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim in this case.

“It was and still is very emotionally draining for us,” the victim’s mother said. “It is taking us some time to get a routine and schedule for him. He did get to start school with everyone else. We are starting with two hours a day just because we weren’t sure how he was going to handle that kind of setting. We are still having challenges taking junior in public and riding in our vehicles. He did wake up from the coma a different boy.”

But the conviction isn’t the final chapter for the crime, which sparked a drive-by shooting in Wausau just two days later. No one was injured in the shooting, which is being described as retaliation for a perceived connection with the near-fatal beating.

In that case, police traced the vehicle allegedly involved in the shooting to Amanda J. Lewis. Police say Lewis was a passenger in the vehicle when the driver, Maurice Bell, shot at two teenagers in the area of North First Street and McIndoe Street.

Officers seized Lewis’ vehicle and interviewed several people who were seen leaving the residence, including Lewis, who was arrested four days later in connection with the shooting.

Bell was arrested in Texas and extradited to Wisconsin, where he faces two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and a charge of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.

Police say the victim in the July 2019 beating was a friend of Lewis’ son and was at the Lewis’ home prior to the assault.

Lewis is facing charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide as party to a crime, maintaining a drug trafficking place and obstructing an officer. Her trial date is set for later this month.