PHOENIX — It's been six months since 15-year-old Kevin Durkin was brutally attacked at a Valley fast-food restaurant. He lost seven teeth in total and had to undergo multiple surgeries and dozens of appointments.
The man who attacked Kevin is only facing four months, or fewer, in prison.
“There hasn't been a single day that I don't wake up crying,” Brittney Durkin, Kevin's mom, said. “I know he's fine, I'm happy he's alive and I'm very grateful that he's alive. It could have been worse but it still hurts.”
It was at the end of May when Kevin and his buddies were leaving an In-N-Out burger in north Phoenix. While walking to their car, Kevin said other teenagers showed up and started hitting the car. When one of Kevin’s friends told them to stop, he said they attacked that friend.
Then when Kevin thought the fight was over and turned away, someone with brass knuckles came up behind Kevin and sucker-punched him. It knocked some of his teeth out as blood poured from his mouth.
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“It's ridiculous that this one thing is now just going to linger with him for the rest of his life,” said his father, Brett Durkin.
Days after the 12News report, the Durkins started receiving hundreds of tips through phone calls, texts and social media.
One of the tipsters was Kevin’s attacker pretending to be another student at his school, they said. He asked what information they had on the case and allegedly tried to tell them it was someone else.
“It was creepy and wild. Gives me chills thinking about,” Brett said. “He was trying to throw us off the tracks.”
The suspect is Adam Zodrow, 18. He was arrested in June following a separate domestic violence call and charged in Kevin’s case. The Durkins said he accepted a plea deal for an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge.
Zodrow is set to be sentenced this Friday. The Durkins said he is looking at fewer than four months behind bars.
“It feels like he's just getting kind of a slap on the wrist and what kind of message does that send to the kids?” Brett said.
“I'm glad he's getting some time but I definitely think it should have been a bit more,” Kevin said.
While this attack is similar to what has been happening in other parts of the Valley, the Durkins believe this attack is not related to the Preston Lord murder.
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