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Last updated on Thursday, November 1, 2012
(TERRE HAUTE) - One man faces prison time in connection with the beating and death of a Terre Haute man in April 2011.
Joe Astrouski, of WTHI reports authorities believe Anton Grant, 44, went to the home of Raymond Hamilton and beat him with a gun. Grant went to a hospital, where doctors found he had an injured spleen. Five days later, Grant died of blunt force trauma to his spleen, according to an autopsy.
Grant was initially charged with Murder and Aggravated Battery. Earlier this year, though, Grant pleaded guilty to the battery charge, and his murder charge was dropped under a plea agreement.
In court Wednesday, Vigo Superior Court Judge John Roach accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Grant to ten years in prison with credit for 1,144 days of time served and good-time credit.
Speaking in court Tuesday, the victim's brother, Thomas Hamilton, said he still felt Grant should serve time for murder.
"To me, this was cold-blooded murder," Thomas Hamilton said. "He did not care about the value of life."
Judge Roach, however, told Hamilton in court that both prosecutors and Grant's defense had worked hard through the process.
"This case has been worked as hard as any case I've seen," Roach said. "This is not an easy case ... I don't know what it's like to lose a brother like this."
Speaking with News 10 after the hearing, prosecutors said the decision to seek a plea agreement was difficult, but they said a murder charge would be tough to prove. They also said important medical witnesses in the case were unable or unwilling to speak because members of Raymond Hamilton's family had filed a medical malpractice suit in connection with the death.
"I feel like the plea agreement that was entered was definitely about as good from our side of things as we were going to get as far as a conviction and punishment in the case," said Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt.
Authorities said Grant is also on probation in connection with another battery conviction out of Tippecanoe County, and they said his conviction in this case could affect his status there.
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