No reduced sentence for Sioux Falls man convicted in death of teen

Danielle Ferguson
Argus Leader
Amiee Strauser, Arick Strauser's mom, explains how the meaning of Arick's name is symbolic to his role in her life now.

A Sioux Falls man sentenced to decades in prison two years ago for beating a teenager to death hasn't matured enough to get a reduced sentence, a judge said Wednesday. 

Wilson Deontrez Hughes requested a sentence modification to his 30-year prison sentence in connection to the death of 18-year-old Arick Strauser in July 2016.

Judge Susan Sabers denied the modification Wednesday afternoon, saying though she's not too prideful to say she gets every sentence right every time, she was confident in this one. 

"I do think I got this one right," Sabers said. 

More:One year later: family remembers life of lost teen

Hughes, 19, requested the sentence modification after having spent time at a North Dakota juvenile facility and a little more than a year at the South Dakota State Penitentiary since being sentenced in August 2017.

A visitation for Arick Strauser is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 4, at Heartland Funeral Home.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for the death of Strauser, who was found beaten to death on the side of the road with garbage and urine on him. Hughes was 16 at the time of the beating and 17 when he was sentenced.

Strauser's mother, Aimee Strauser, said she feels the request for a sentence reduction feels like "a slap in the face" to Arick. 

"Sitting here listening to how great Wilson is doing...got me thinking how great Arick's life would be," she said, adding her son would have turned 22 in November. "Seems like Arick got swept under the rug. Where do we get to petition to get out of the hell we're in?"

Sabers mentioned a case she had sentenced earlier Wednesday morning in which she used the phrase "caused the death" of someone, referring to the 10-year sentence she gave to Jayme Kae Knudson for second-degree manslaughter in the death of Erik Lunstra

More:'I'm remarkably troubled': Judge sentences woman to prison for causing death of boyfriend

"This case is the opposite," she said. "You did not cause the death of Arick Strauser. You killed him. It was brutal. It was ugly. And you did nothing to help him."

Hughes' attorney, Amber Eggert, said Hughes has been an upstanding inmate and is taking steps to educate himself and get a job in the prison's kitchen. Compared to other juvenile cases, Hughes' sentence was excessive, Eggert said. 

Photos: Take Back the Site for Arick Strauser

She said his actions in the juvenile center and in the penitentiary have shown "who he really is." There haven't been violent incidents or threats of violence in either facility, she said. 

"If Wilson were as violent as he was portrayed, we'd see that in the penitentiary," she said. 

Prosecutor Tom Hensley said Hughes' actions after the beating show how violent the incident was. Hughes bragged to the dozen other juveniles there, didn't call police and returned to Strauser's body three separate times, Hensley said. Hensley also said that Hughes took a plea deal knowing the sentencing parameters and had competent counsel at the time of the first sentencing. 

"(Hughes) has a considerable distance to go...before he's not a risk (to the public)," Hensley said. 

At Hughes' sentencing hearing in August 2017, she said: "A one-word insult resulted in the death of a child. You met a kid, didn't like what he had to say and in 10 minutes he was dead."

Previous coverage:

Teen in homicide to be tried as an adult

Wilson Hughes sentenced to 30 years in prison for death of teen

Snapchat video, autopsy illuminate details in Sioux Falls teen's death

Email reporter Danielle Ferguson at dbferguson@argusleader.com, or follow on Twitter at @DaniFergs.