Grady Wide Mug.jpg

Ander Grady

(Syracuse police )

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse teenager who spent a year and a half in juvenile confinement for the "Knockout" death of a 51-year-old man in 2013 will graduate high school this June.

Ander Grady, 18, will also have a charge from a 2015 Corcoran High School brawl dismissed if he stays out of trouble for a period of time, City Court Judge Karen Uplinger said today.

For his part, Grady has done well in school and completed an anti-violence leadership course offered by the Center for Community Alternatives, which seeks alternatives to incarceration, said his lawyer, Lisa Gilels.

But prosecutors asked for one more thing: that Grady write a letter of apology to the school administrator he threatened to knock out during the 2015 brawl.

"I'll knock you right the f--- out, Murphy," Grady said, according to police.

Uplinger agreed that Grady should write a letter of apology. Once that happens, she promised to adjourn his disorderly conduct charge -- a non-criminal violation -- and dismiss the charge if he remained out of trouble.

Grady returned to high school following Daniel's death after serving his 18-month sentence -- the maximum punishment allowed under law given his circumstances.

Around 9:40 p.m. on May 23, 2013, Michael Daniels was standing alone outside the Los Amigos Market at Cannon Street and West Brighton Avenue when he was attacked by a group of teenagers. The teens repeatedly punched Daniels and then kicked the 51-year-old in the head while he was on the ground. He later died from his injuries.

Police later charged a 13-year-old boy and Grady, who was 15 at the time, with manslaughter in the killing.

Police Chief Frank Fowler said the teens had been participating in a "Knockout," a game in which people randomly target someone on the street and try to knock the person out by punching them.