Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Shame Shame
JS Online: DayWatch: "4 sentenced to jail for tire slashings
A judge today ignored a plea deal calling for probation and sentenced four Democratic campaign workers to jail terms for their roles in the infamous Election Day 2004 tire slashing caper.
The four - including the sons of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and former Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt - pleaded no contest to misdemeanors while an apparently deadlocked jury stalled over felony counts at the end of a January trial that received national coverage.
A fifth Kerry-Edwards staffer accused of crippling Republican vans, Justin Howell, turned down the last-minute deal and was acquitted by the jury.
Michael Pratt was sentenced to six months in jail, and Sowande Omokunde, Moore's son, got four months in jail. Lavelle Mohammad was sentenced to five months in jail, and Lewis Caldwell received a six-month jail sentence.
Each was fined $1,000. The defendants all had previously paid a collective restitution of $5,320, as part of the plea bargain.
They had been charged with damaging 40 tires on 25 rented vans parked outside Republican Party offices on W. Capitol Drive, hours before the vans were going to be used for electioneering. The repair costs easily exceeded the felony threshold of $2,500, yet there was little evidence about what each man had allegedly done."
A little more public embarassment might do these people some good too.
A judge today ignored a plea deal calling for probation and sentenced four Democratic campaign workers to jail terms for their roles in the infamous Election Day 2004 tire slashing caper.
The four - including the sons of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and former Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt - pleaded no contest to misdemeanors while an apparently deadlocked jury stalled over felony counts at the end of a January trial that received national coverage.
A fifth Kerry-Edwards staffer accused of crippling Republican vans, Justin Howell, turned down the last-minute deal and was acquitted by the jury.
Michael Pratt was sentenced to six months in jail, and Sowande Omokunde, Moore's son, got four months in jail. Lavelle Mohammad was sentenced to five months in jail, and Lewis Caldwell received a six-month jail sentence.
Each was fined $1,000. The defendants all had previously paid a collective restitution of $5,320, as part of the plea bargain.
They had been charged with damaging 40 tires on 25 rented vans parked outside Republican Party offices on W. Capitol Drive, hours before the vans were going to be used for electioneering. The repair costs easily exceeded the felony threshold of $2,500, yet there was little evidence about what each man had allegedly done."
A little more public embarassment might do these people some good too.
