NORWICH, N.Y. -- A Norwich man pleaded guilty to a 2016 Christmas Eve hate crime.

Prosecutors say Jacob Fowlston approached David Jennings on Fair Street and started punching him and yelling racial slurs. Jennings suffered multiple bruises and a concussion. 

As part of the plea deal, Fowlston admitted that he attacked Jennings and screamed racial slurs after leaving a bar on December 24, 2016. 

He was sentenced to weekends at the Chenango County Correctional Facility for four months and an additional five years of probation.

That sentence wasn't harsh enough, according to Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride.

"I thought that the facts and circumstances of the case including the things said by the defendant and his violent actions against the victim merited a much more severe sentence. My request was state prison," said McBride.

When deciding on the sentence, the judge mentioned Fowlston's previously clean record.