Oakland Teen Sentenced To 7 Years In Prison For Setting Sasha Fleischman's Skirt On Fire, Causing Injury

OAKLAND (KCBS)__ A judge sentenced 17-year-old Richard Thomas of Oakland, to seven years in prison on Friday for setting another teen's skirt on fire while aboard an AC Transit bus last November.

Thomas was 16 when he used a lighter to set fire to 18-year-old Luke "Sasha" Fleischman's skirt on November 4, 2013 as Fleischman was asleep on the bus.

A plea deal in the case was reached last month where in an Alameda County Superior Courthouse, Thomas pleaded no contest to charges of felony assault and inflicting great bodily injury.

Fleischman's family did push for Thomas to be prosecuted as a juvenile, but he was charged as an adult. However, an aggravated mayhem charge, which had a hate-crime enhancement that carried a sentence of up to life in prison, was dropped.

Prosecutors said that Thomas had targeted Fleischman because he doesn't identify as male or female and was wearing a skirt. Thomas' attorney described it as a prank gone terribly wrong.

The judge said that Thomas will stay in juvenile hall until he turns 18 next year, and will then be transferred to prison.

Fleischman, who suffered second and third-degree burns to his legs, is now 19 and a freshman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.