The last defendants in a group of seven charged in the beating of a Dundalk man outside his home last spring have pleaded guilty to their roles in the incident.

Four defendants pleaded guilty in Baltimore County Circuit Court this week to first-degree assault in the attack on Richard Fletcher. Three others previously pleaded guilty to felonies in juvenile court.

“Guilty pleas, while sometimes people don't like them, they're good,” said Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger. “We have finality. There will be no appeal.”

The attack last April 22 galvanized Dundalk's Harbor View community, where residents had complained for years about students terrorizing their neighborhood on their way from Baltimore Community High School to bus stops. Several of the accused were students at the school, and school officials helped police identify them.

Fletcher and his wife were in their home on 45th Street when they heard a commotion outside, according to police and prosecutors. As two girls fought, a crowd of at least 25 young people watched, some in the street and some from atop Fletcher's truck.

As his wife called 911, Fletcher went out to order the kids away, and the group turned on him, police said. A cellphone video played in court Wednesday showed multiple people hitting and beating Fletcher, even after he was on the ground unconscious.

The first police officers who arrived followed a trail of blood from the street to Fletcher's house, where he was bleeding and in pain.

Police and school officials obtained cellphone and surveillance videos that showed the attack. One video was slipped under a door at the school on a flash drive.

Shellenberger said the videos were crucial evidence in the case.

“It really is unfathomable how a fight and someone telling them to get off their car could just turn into such a frenzy that really was out of control,” he said.

Fletcher, who did not attend court hearings this week, was so badly injured that doctors put him into a temporary coma at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

He suffered broken bones in his face, broken ribs and bleeding on his brain. Prosecutors said he lost some of his hearing, has vision problems and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Fletcher has not spoken publicly about the attack. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Shellenberger said the guilty pleas spared Fletcher from having to testify at multiple trials.

The defendants who pleaded guilty as adults to first-degree assault Tuesday and Wednesday include Garry Leroy Baker Jr., 17, who will be sentenced in May; Keenan Tylike Holloway, 21, sentenced to 20 years with all but 15 years suspended; Samtoya Isaiah Williams, 18, sentenced to 20 years with all but 10 years suspended; and Mya Lashae Stewart, 16, sentenced to 20 years with all but seven years suspended.

Following their guilty pleas, other charges against the four defendants, including attempted murder, were dismissed.

Williams and Stewart, who pleaded guilty Wednesday, played significant roles in the attack, Baltimore County Circuit Judge Judith C. Ensor said. Williams threw the first punch, Ensor said, and Stewart kicked Fletcher in the head as he was lying unconscious on the ground, likely causing the worst injuries.

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