(June 16, 2016) While dubious of the defendants’ claim of inability to find anywhere within Berlin to conduct their court-mandated community service, Judge Gerald Purnell nonetheless approved an alteration to that condition as well as imposing a few others on the Berlin vandals during a hearing last Friday.
Jordan Denton, 19, of Ocean City and Nick Bonser, 18, of Ocean Pines were sentenced to 150 hours each of community service in Berlin, were to write letters of apology to the town, serve two years’ worth of probation and make restitution of about $3,000 each last June.
Both were called before the judge for suspected violation of the probation agreement reached as part of a plea deal. Denton was legally an adult at the time of the January 2015 incident, Bonser was almost 18 and was charged as an adult, and an unidentified minor admitted involvement with the crimes.
Purnell said he’d never heard of a town that didn’t need any sort of help, but wasn’t going to challenge the claims of the pair as long as the state, represented by Paul Haskell, didn’t have a problem.
Purnell said the deal was between Denton, Bonser and the state and he would accept any changes offered and agreed upon by both parties.
Haskell added four provisions to the existing deal.
Both Bonser and Denton will now be required to abstain from alcohol and abuse use of any drug, submit to alcohol and drug screening as directed by their probation supervisor and consent to any treatment, testing or evaluation mandated by the probation supervisor as part of their probation.
The judge also removed the provision that the service be completed within the town of Berlin as part of the new deal struck between the parties.
Bonser said he had completed 50 hours of service at the Bishopville Fire Department, and had scheduled the remaining 100 hours worth of time there. Denton gave no indication of the amount of community service she’d completed.
During the hearing, it was revealed both Bonser and Denton had admitted to and tested positive for marijuana use while on probation.
The time limit to complete the community service was also shortened to six months. Bonser and Denton previously had until the end of their probationary period, June 2017, to complete the service.
No information on the status of the monetary restitution was revealed during the hearing, though Laura Allen, the town administrator, said neither Bonser nor Denton had made any financial restitution to the town, nor had they completed any community service work.
Allen said letters of apology from the pair were received in February 2016.
Jordan Denton, 19, of Ocean City and Nick Bonser, 18, of Ocean Pines were sentenced to 150 hours each of community service in Berlin, were to write letters of apology to the town, serve two years’ worth of probation and make restitution of about $3,000 each last June.
Both were called before the judge for suspected violation of the probation agreement reached as part of a plea deal. Denton was legally an adult at the time of the January 2015 incident, Bonser was almost 18 and was charged as an adult, and an unidentified minor admitted involvement with the crimes.
Purnell said he’d never heard of a town that didn’t need any sort of help, but wasn’t going to challenge the claims of the pair as long as the state, represented by Paul Haskell, didn’t have a problem.
Purnell said the deal was between Denton, Bonser and the state and he would accept any changes offered and agreed upon by both parties.
Haskell added four provisions to the existing deal.
Both Bonser and Denton will now be required to abstain from alcohol and abuse use of any drug, submit to alcohol and drug screening as directed by their probation supervisor and consent to any treatment, testing or evaluation mandated by the probation supervisor as part of their probation.
The judge also removed the provision that the service be completed within the town of Berlin as part of the new deal struck between the parties.
Bonser said he had completed 50 hours of service at the Bishopville Fire Department, and had scheduled the remaining 100 hours worth of time there. Denton gave no indication of the amount of community service she’d completed.
During the hearing, it was revealed both Bonser and Denton had admitted to and tested positive for marijuana use while on probation.
The time limit to complete the community service was also shortened to six months. Bonser and Denton previously had until the end of their probationary period, June 2017, to complete the service.
No information on the status of the monetary restitution was revealed during the hearing, though Laura Allen, the town administrator, said neither Bonser nor Denton had made any financial restitution to the town, nor had they completed any community service work.
Allen said letters of apology from the pair were received in February 2016.