Bus tunnel beating victim sentenced in purse-snatching case
Aiesha Steward-Baker will spend the next 15-36 weeks in a juvenile prison. She had been convicted earlier this month in the 2009 purse-snatching incident in Edmonds.
Investigators said the teen and another girl attacked Cox along a sidewalk. In an interview with KOMO News on Feb. 18, Cox claimed Steward-Baker was hitting her while the other girl "grabbed my hair and she's pulling me down in submission while she was punching me in the face and the arm."
A passerby saw the attack and called 911. Minutes later, police arrived and arrested Baker and her friend.
In court on Monday, Steward-Baker, 16, showed no emotion as she learned her fate. She did, however, apologize to the victim.
"I want to apologize to Mrs. Tamie Cox. I promise to never be involved in a situation like this again," she said.
Victim said she believes justice has been served, but she does not believe Steward-Baker is remorseful.
"Most definitely, I agreed with the judge in his statement, and I believe it was very fair and true," she said." I believe she's remorseful to the fact that she didn't get away with the lesser time, but I don't think she's remorseful for what she did to me."
The teen's family members, lawyer, and former middle school principal all asked the judge to spare her from any jail time. They said she has stayed out of trouble, and volunteers with anti-violence groups.
"We all have made mistakes. and she has more than paid for hers, whether we believe she was involved or not," said former principal Kaaren Andrews.
But both the judge and Cox showed sympathy.
"Aiesha Steward-Baker is only reaping what she sowed, from bus tunnel beating victim, to a felon in a separate case," Cox said. "The things that you do come back to you. If you're acting and running in a certain circle, it's going to come back."