A man was sentenced on Thursday to serve nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for fatally assaulting a Vietnam War veteran out walking his dog in Fells Point in what prosecutors called a brazen and callous attack.

Timothy Clinedinst Jr., 44, whose address is listed in court records as the Baltimore Rescue Mission, approached David Philpot on Eastern Avenue near South Broadway at about 2:45 p.m. on Aug. 17, 2024, and asked him for change.

Clinedinst later shoved Philpot to the ground, pushed up his legs and kicked him. Surveillance video captured the attack.

Philpot died the next day at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 74.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Gregory Sampson said it is “not unusual that elderly people get assaulted, sadly.” But if Baltimore Ravens Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis had been walking down the street, he said, Clinedinst would have moved on and not tried to attack him.

“He did it,” Sampson said, “because the person was weak.”

Though Sampson believed the maximum sentence was appropriate, he said if he imposed that punishment Clinedinst would be under “absolutely no supervision whatsoever” after getting out of prison.

Sampson then sentenced Clinedinst to 10 years in prison, with one year suspended, plus five years’ supervised probation.

“Mr. Philpot was simply walking his dog in his own neighborhood, something we should all be able to do safely in our city,” Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said in a statement. “This defendant’s violent attack has taken a beloved husband away from his wife and has created a significant void in the Fells Point community.”

During the hearing, Philpot’s wife, Mary Margaret, stated her late husband could fix anything and added that he had a kind heart.

Philpot, she said, had to be medevaced after being wounded in Vietnam. He was proud of his service in the U.S. Army.

“Our family, especially our grandchildren, are heartbroken,” she said. “He was my world. I hope the defendant is given the maximum sentence for this heartless attack.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Manaia Jespersen played surveillance video of the assault in court and also asked the judge to hand down the maximum sentence: 10 years in prison.

Philpot, she said, survived the Vietnam War only to die on the streets of Baltimore. She described him as an upstanding member of the community who was vulnerable.

“This was a senseless, brutal, vicious crime that happened for absolutely no reason,” Jespersen said.

Clinedinst’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jason Rodriguez, said his client had been experiencing homelessness and struggling with substance use disorder for more than a decade.

“He is beyond remorseful for what happened,” Rodriguez said. “He feels terrible that this happened.”

Clinedinst, he said, had started taking a new medication that caused irritability. His substance use disorder exacerbated that side effect.

But Rodriguez said his client was not making excuses or seeking to dodge accountability for the crime.

Before the judge imposed the sentence, Clinedinst said he had been drinking alcohol that afternoon and begging for change.

Clinedinst claimed the two men exchanged “harsh words” and that he shoved Philpot to “tell him to back off.”

Later, Clinedinst said, he noticed that Philpot was struggling to stand up.

“I didn’t understand what I had done, and I was sorry,” Clinedinst said. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

He said he’s asked God for forgiveness.