Key West man who sucker-punched another man twice, killing him, has been ordered to state prison.

A homeless Key West man who sucker-punched another man twice, killing him, has been ordered to state prison.

On June 24, Fred Hauch, 55, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in front of Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Koenig, who then sentenced Hauch to eight years. Assistant State Attorney Christopher Bridger represented the state.

On August 18, 2017, Hauch was at the Chevron gas station at Truman Avenue and White Street at the same time as Steven Sanderson, 62. A witness told police that Sanderson was speaking ill of an off-duty Chevron employee and that Hauch asked her, the witness, if he should “kick his (Sanderson’s) ass.” She told police she said yes, believing Hauch was joking, and that Hauch then punched Sanderson twice in the head, then rode off on a bicycle.

Sanderson’s injuries were so severe that he was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, where he died August 20, 2017. A medical examiner ruled the cause “blunt force head injury.”

At the Chevron, after Sanderson was taken to Ryder, police found someone who knew Hauch, who got him on the phone and gave the phone to police. Hauch agreed to meet with them and he was taken to the police station on North Roosevelt Boulevard.

He told police he did punch Sanderson, the first time while Sanderson was seated. He “delivered the second strike” while Sanderson stood. Hauch told police Sanderson never threatened him and that he “did not intend to seriously hurt Sanderson.”

Later that night, a doctor at Ryder told Key West police that Sanderson had a brain bleed and “would likely be brain dead in the following days.”

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