A jury found Byron Syvinski, the man accused of beating up a 7-year-old girl in Midtown and taking her bicycle last summer, guilty on all seven robbery and assault charges he faced Wednesday in a case that shocked the community.
Syvinski was found guilty of six counts of assault, including two each of first-degree and third-degree assault as well as one each of second-degree and fourth-degree assault. He was also found guilty of one count of first-degree robbery. Six of the seven charges are felonies, while the fourth-degree assault charge is a misdemeanor.
All of the felony charges involved Syvinski's actions against Am Marie Martin, the girl whom Syvinski struck and knocked out during the June 5, 2011 incident on Eide Street. Martin was in the courtroom for the first time Wednesday as the jury reached its unanimous verdict.
Anchorage police say Syvinski approached Martin after taking a bag from a 17-year-old boy and rifling through its contents then punching the boy’s father, Roberto Delreal, with a closed fist. After trying to force Martin off her bike, he then punched her to the ground where she lost consciousness, then hit her in the head several more times.
The four-day trial ended Wednesday morning with closing arguments from the prosecution and defense. Superior Court Judge Jack Smith had said Syvinski’s medical records would be shown to the jury before deliberations.
Earlier this week, Syvinski’s defense had argued that he was using bath salts, as an expert witness pointed to symptoms like agitation and psychosis -- although no trace of them was found in Syvinski’s system after the incident.
Syvinski could face as many as 41 years in prison if he receives the maximum sentence on all charges.
