A 10-year-old boy apologized Thursday for beating and stoning a homeless Army veteran, and a judge ordered him kept in custody until psychiatric evaluations show he is not a threat to others.

"I'm sorry for what I did," the boy said at his juvenile court sentencing, while shackled and wearing an oversized white jumpsuit. "I'm sorry for the names I called John D'Amico. I wish I could go back to that day."

Authorities say two 10-year-olds and a teenager beat D'Amico as he and a friend walked through a crime-ridden neighborhood. One of the younger boys threw a concrete block at D'Amico's face. Investigators never determined which boy threw the block.

D'Amico underwent reconstructive surgery, and he testified that injuries from the attack in March still linger.

"He did a lot of damage," D'Amico, 58, told the judge. "I can't hear. I can't see well. I just hope the kid gets some help. You don't want him to turn out to be a little gangster."

The state Juvenile Justice Department will oversee the boy's psychiatric evaluations and determine when he is released, said Linda Pruitt, a spokeswoman for state prosecutors.

"If we were to let him out and he harmed another child, it would be a tragedy," Circuit Judge John Watson said.

The boy was convicted last month of aggravated battery and has been held in a juvenile detention center. Defense attorney Tonya Cromartie argued he should be released on probation and ordered to receive counseling.

"The help he needs can't be accomplished in a detention facility," Cromartie said. "It should be done under the direction of a doctor in a hospital."

The child's mother stood with her arms around the boy as he talked about the future.

"I want to do something with my life. I want go to college," he said. His mother declined to comment outside court.

The other young boy pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery in April and is scheduled to be sentenced July 13. He faces up to a year in juvenile detention and now is living with an aunt in Michigan.

Jeremy Woods, 17, is being prosecuted as an adult on a charge of aggravated battery. He could face probation up to 15 years in prison if convicted. His next court hearing is scheduled July 25.

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