Man sentenced to 10 years in grandparent attack

A Columbia man convicted of assaulting his grandparents was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

Judge Brouck Jacobs sentenced Brian Kelley, 20, to 10 years on one domestic assault charge and one year each on two other domestic assault charges, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Kelley was convicted Nov. 29 after a two-day trial of domestic assault but acquitted on charges of conspiracy to murder his grandparents.

Kelley was accused of plotting with a friend to kill his grandparents. Authorities said Kelley attacked them but the couple fended him off using wasp spray.

“We don’t condone what you did, but we love you and continue to pray for you,” said Richard Lewis, Kelley’s grandfather. “We will continue to pray that God can turn your life around for you.”

Kelley’s grandmother, Cindy Lewis, also spoke out. She said the attack gave her post-traumatic stress disorder.

“He’s changed my life completely,” she said. “Brian, you took from me a piece of my mind, which I am trying very hard every day to get back.”

She also said he needed to “take responsibility for your actions.”

Prosecutors cited Facebook messages between Kelley and co-defendant Jared Bears as evidence of the murder conspiracy. Bears remains at large after he tampered with and abandoned his electronic monitoring equipment while out on bond.

After the trial jurors recommended a 10-year prison sentence. Kelley was also arraigned in a separate case in which he is accused of bringing a weapon into the jail.