Man who burned transient gets prison

Judge sentences Raskiewicz for March 23 attack

A 25-year-old man who burned a transient with a hot frying pan and left him for dead was sentenced to prison Thursday.

District Judge Kitty Curtis sentenced Jeremy Raskiewicz, 25, to 20 years with 12 suspended for assault with a weapon.

Raskiewicz and Edward Grogg, 27, attacked a transient, Ralph Cisco, then 45, at a makeshift camp March 23 in Lawrence Park. Cisco was beaten, burned and stabbed, but survived. He's undergone numerous surgeries since the attack.

Raskiewicz originally was charged with accountability to attempted homicide. Curtis considered three sentences recommended for him. An officer from the state Probation and Parole Bureau recommended a flat 20-year sentence with none suspended. Deputy County Attorney Dan Guzynski suggested 20 years with 12 suspended. Defense attorney Tara Fugina asked Curtis to consider 15 years with 10 suspended.

Curtis settled on Guzynski's recommendation.

He told her that the burns Raskiewicz inflicted on Cisco's chest and arms were "part of a larger assault." Most disturbing was that Raskiewicz left Cisco, believing he would die, and didn't summon any help to save his life.

Fugina said that Raskiewicz did assist Cisco. She said that after Grogg stabbed Cisco in the stomach, Raskiewicz attempted to cauterize the wounds with the fiery frying pan.

Curtis found Raskiewicz to be a threat to society, saying he has engaged in "assaultive, resistive type of behavior since he was about 17 years old. His solution for difficulties he encounters in life is to deal with them in a physically aggressive manner."

Still to be determined is how much restitution Raskiewicz owes Cisco.

Grogg was sentenced in September to 50 years with 20 suspended for attempted homicide.