2 Westfield teens strike plea deal in Taser assault, kidnapping case

Two teenagers accused of kidnapping and attacking a 19-year-old Westfield resident with a stun gun earlier this year were sentenced yesterday to some jail time and probation, as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Matthew D'Andrea and Eric Grow, both 18-year-old Westfield residents, were each originally charged with aggravated assault and weapons possession; D'Andrea was also charged with kidnapping in the July 18 attack.

They had planned to swipe a bag of marijuana from the victim because they thought he had stolen laptops and cell phones from their friends' houses, said D'Andrea's attorney, Robert Stahl.

D'Andrea pleaded guilty only to aggravated assault, for which he is serving 90 days in jail. He also received probation and will perform community service. Grow pleaded guilty to theft, and will serve probation in addition to the 60 days he has already spent in jail.

D'Andrea and another teenager charged in the attack, 18-year-old Maxwell Scher, graduated from Westfield Senior High School in June, police said. Scher took a plea deal last week and is serving the same sentence as Grow, Assistant Union County Prosecutor Robert Rosenthal said.

Authorities have not identified the victim, who was not charged. He told police the three attackers used the stun gun on him outside his house, then forced him into a car and drove around, continuing to stun him. After the attack, the car's driver, a 17-year-old girl, returned the victim to his house, authorities said. The girl was charged with drug possession.

Stahl said the victim punched D'Andrea first, then jumped into the teenagers' car on his own in an effort to retrieve a bag of marijuana they had stolen from him. He said D'Andrea sometimes carried a Taser, not as a weapon but because he and his friends thought it was funny to use it on each other. Grow appeared first yesterday before Superior Court Judge Robert J. Mega in Elizabeth. The teen, wearing a suit and tie, stood quietly as his mother watched from the court gallery.

His public defender, Wayne Morse, said Grow has no prior record and did not know D'Andrea had the stun gun when they left to rob the victim.

Asked if he had anything to say on his own behalf, Grow, who aspires to join the military, told the judge simply, "I wish I didn't do that."

D'Andrea, who hopes to join the Marine Corps after college, said, "I feel terrible about what I did, I'm very sorry. No one deserves that, and I wasn't thinking. I was stupid. I was intoxicated."

After the sentencing, his mother, Donna D'Andrea, said her son made a foolish mistake, and has struggled after his parents went through a divorce. She said his church pastor, who accompanied D'Andrea on a mission to build a school in the Dominican Republic last year, and his friends in college wrote letters to the judge attesting to her son's character.

"Matthew is a sensitive, good person, he has loyal friends," Donna D'Andrea said. "He's just a good, decent person."

Julie O'Connor may be reached at joconnor@starledger.com or (908) 351-7261.