A former Auburn inmate's plea to assault satisfied a manslaughter charge he faced for his part in the death of a fellow inmate.
Ashton Bellamy, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault while in a correctional facility, a class D felony, in Cayuga County Criminal Court Thursday. His plea satisfied his entire indictment, which included a first-degree manslaughter charge, a class B felony.
In July 2017, Bellamy was at Auburn Correctional Facility in a cell next to Daniel Wingate, a soon-to-be-released sex offender, when Wingate allegedly called Bellamy "the N word," Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Valdina said in court Jan. 10. Later that day, Bellamy entered Wingate's cell with codefendant Rupert Alberga.
Wingate was later found in his cell unresponsive and covered in blood. He was evaluated, then transported to Auburn Community Hospital where he later died due to blunt force injuries to the head.
In his guilty plea to second-degree assault, Bellamy admitted punching Wingate in the face twice. In court in January, Valdina said that Alberga, 37, serving a 24-year-to-life sentence for a previous second-degree murder conviction, continued to beat Wingate.
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