LEWISTON — A local man is expected to spend up to two years in prison for his part in a random attack on a stranger who was driving along a downtown street late one summer night.

Brandon Roy, 19, of 81 Shawmut St. was sentenced Friday in 8th District Court to seven years in prison, but a judge suspended five years of that sentence for aggravated assault to be followed by three years of probation. A more serious assault charge, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, was dismissed.

Three men who had been drinking ran from a Shawmut Street apartment in Lewiston late at night on July 21 yelling that they were going to randomly fight someone, witnesses told police, according to a written report in court files.

The group, including Roy, blocked the roadway, refusing to let a man driving a gold SUV pass. The man, identified as Rick Cote, 47, later told police he had been visiting his estranged wife who lived on Shawmut Street and was attempting to leave, according to court records.

Witnesses said the men yelled, “N—–, don’t get out of your car,” as they pounded on the SUV’s windows.

Cote stepped out of his vehicle and was attacked by several of the men, witnesses said.

Cote fell to the ground as men in the group punched and kicked him. As police approached, one of the men took Cote’s wallet. He was left lying on the ground bleeding from his head, police said.

Cote told police he had asked the men in the roadway to move. They refused and told him not to get out of his car, using a racial epithet. He left his car and was punched by one man, then others punched and kicked him. He said he lost consciousness, but he didn’t know for how long.

His injuries included a broken nose, broken teeth, a dislocated shoulder, a concussion, abrasions and bruising.

One of the three local men charged in the attack, Patrick Alexander III, 19, last week received the same sentence as Roy.

A third co-defendant, Zachary Hoyt, 20, is awaiting trial.

Probation conditions for Roy include no possession of alcohol or illegal drugs for which he can be searched and tested at random. He must perform 10 hours of public service for each week he is unemployed. He must observe a curfew each night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and must receive mental health treatment.

He and Alexander together must pay $1,218 in restitution to Cote and have no contact with him, nor with Hoyt.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com