SALISBURY, MD - A total of 11 former Salisbury University students have now been sentenced in connection to a hate crime and assault investigation that began with an alleged ambush off-campus late last year.
Investigators say that a Salisbury University student posed as a 16-year-old boy on a dating app to lure an adult male victim to an off-campus apartment on the pretense of sex on October 15, 2024. When the man arrived, police say a group of 15 students, all affiliated with an SU fraternity, ambushed and assaulted him.
The victim would later tell police he believed he was targeted for being gay, launching a hate crime investigation.
Initially charged with more serious counts of felony hate crimes and assault, all 15 of the students saw their charges reduced by December 2024.
As of May 2025, only one student now faces a hate crime charge.
Sentencing began in January with three of the students who all pleaded guilty to their respective charges of misdemeanor false imprisonment. Charges of misdemeanor 2nd degree assault against the three were placed on a stet docket, or indefinitely postponed.
By the end of January, a total nine students all pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of either 2nd degree assault or false imprisonment in connection to the October incident. A tenth student, Bennan Aird, also pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault in January but his sentencing is now scheduled for June 10, 2025, according to court records.
On February 28, Patrick Gutierrez pleaded guilty to false imprisonment while his charge of assault was also placed on a stet docket.
On April 4, one of the only two students still facing hate crime charges pleaded guilty to assault and false imprisonment. Wicomico County State's Attorney Jamie Dykes told WBOC the hate crime charge against Elijah Johnson would be marked stet for postconviction and appeal purposes. Dykes said the State would recommend a 6-year sentence for Johnson with all but 18 months suspended.
On May 29, Johnson received that year-and-a-half recommended active jailtime with an additional 3 years of probation.
Each student sentenced so far will see jail time, according to court documents, though all initial jail sentences have been reduced in Wicomico County District Court. Actual time spent in prison for the various students ranged from two days to 18 months, depending on the time suspended.
Earlier in May, Benjamin Brandenburg was found not guilty on one count of 2nd degree assault and one count false imprisonment. He is so far the only former student fully acquitted.
Two more former students now await trials, with only one facing a misdemeanor hate crime charge. A breakdown of the sentences so far and the court status of the remaining cases are as follows:
Sentenced
-Elijah Johnson - Pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault and false imprisonment. Stet for hate crime charge. 6 year sentence with all but 18 months suspended and 3 years probation.
-Cruz Cespedes - Pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault, stet for false imprisonment. 2 year sentence with all but 6 months suspended. 18 months probation.
-Dylan Earp - Pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault. 3 year sentence with all but 1 year suspended. 18 months probation.
-Ryder Baker - Pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault. 3 year sentence with all but 1 year suspended. 18 months probation.
-Cameron Guy - Pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault. 2 year sentence with all but 83 days suspended. 18 months probation.
-Jacob Howard - Pleaded guilty to false imprisonment. 2 year sentence with all but 83 days suspended. 18 months probation.
-Dylan Pietuszka - Pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, stet for 2nd degree assault. 2 year sentence with all but 79 days suspended. 18 months probation.
-Sean Antone - Pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, stet for 2nd degree assault. 2 year sentence with all but 2 days suspended. 18 months probation.
-Riley Brister - Pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault. 2 year sentence with all but 1 year suspended. 18 months probation.
-Logan Clark - Pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, stet for 2nd degree assault. 2 year sentence with all but 68 days suspended. 18 months probation.
-Patrick Gutierrez - Pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, stet for 2nd degree assault. 2 year sentence with all but 56 days suspended. 18 months probation.
Awaiting Sentencing
-Bennan Aird - Pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault, stet for false imprisonment. Sentencing scheduled for June 10.
Acquitted
-Benjamin Brandenburg - Jury trial requested. Found not guilty of all charges in Wicomico County Circuit Court on May 21.
Upcoming Trials
-Eric Sinclair - Jury trial requested, moved to Wicomico County Circuit Court. Trial scheduled for August 4.
-Zachary Leinemann - Pre-trial conference scheduled for May 12, 2025. Trial scheduled for August 18.
This article was originally published on January 29, 2025. It will be updated as the suspects' statuses change.