A homeless man convicted of beating an Australian tourist with a skateboard and dragging him into a smoldering fire pit at a San Diego beach has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
A Superior Court judge handed down the sentence for Damian Maple on Wednesday.
Maple pleaded guilty in February to attempted murder in the 2008 attack on Robert Schneider.
Co-defendant Francisco Montoya, who is also homeless, was sentenced to two years in prison in March after pleading guilty to assault with a deadly weapon.
A witness told police that Montoya attacked Schneider after the tourist threw sand in his face. The witness said Maple encouraged Montoya before dragging the unconscious man into a fire pit.
Schneider spent weeks in a hospital with burns, a skull fracture and other injuries.
