(Dec. 22, 2016) In the second trial stemming from the same November 2014 incident that saw former Pocomoke City Police Chief Kelvin Sewell convicted of misconduct in office and sentenced to three years probation, his subordinate, former Lt. Lynell Green, was granted probation before judgment on conspiracy to conduct misconduct in office for a term of one year.
Green was found not guilty of the other charge he was indicted on: misconduct in office.
The defense chose to have the case heard by Judge W. Newton Jackson, rather than a jury. Sewell’s case was heard by a jury.
Jackson said in rendering his verdict he didn’t believe that when a supervisor, in this case Sewell, had decided to engage in misconduct that every other subordinate officer was required to formally protest that action in order to avoid official sanctions.
Jackson said that decision rested on Sewell’s shoulders, not Green’s.
However, Jackson said the conspiracy charge was a different game, where a meeting of the minds — not any sort of acknowledgement, formal conversation or agreement needed to take place for the charges to stick. Jackson said such a meeting of minds occurred between Sewell and Green during the course of their conversations on that evening.
Maryland State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt recommended Green be sentenced the same way Sewell was, a reduction of his original recommendation of three years in jail with all but six months worth suspended, but Green’s attorney successfully argued that his client’s cooperation with the investigation plus other factors warranted probation before judgment.
Jackson added that Green must consent to the ruling, and waive the right to appeal in order for the decision to take effect. Green agreed.
Probation before judgment is not a conviction. It places the charges on hold for a finite amount of time, in this case one year, of probation either supervised or unsupervised.
If the defendant is able to meet the terms of the probation for the specified amount of time, the defendant will then be very likely to get the records of the matter expunged.
The facts of the incident were never disputed. Close to midnight on Nov. 21, 2014 Doug Matthews, a guard at Eastern Correctional Institute at the time, was returning home from the Masonic Lodge in Pocomoke City. As he was making the drive, which was only a matter of blocks, his car struck two others but he continued to his residence, about another three blocks, before the car stopped functioning.
The owners of the damaged cars discovered what Matthews testified he did as he exited the car — the right front wheel among other parts had been torn from the vehicle by the impact, and was laying in the street where the collision occurred.
Matthews was never charged in connection to the incident. The behavior of both Sewell and Green during the course of the investigation led the grand jury to indict the pair in July.
Green was found not guilty of the other charge he was indicted on: misconduct in office.
The defense chose to have the case heard by Judge W. Newton Jackson, rather than a jury. Sewell’s case was heard by a jury.
Jackson said in rendering his verdict he didn’t believe that when a supervisor, in this case Sewell, had decided to engage in misconduct that every other subordinate officer was required to formally protest that action in order to avoid official sanctions.
Jackson said that decision rested on Sewell’s shoulders, not Green’s.
However, Jackson said the conspiracy charge was a different game, where a meeting of the minds — not any sort of acknowledgement, formal conversation or agreement needed to take place for the charges to stick. Jackson said such a meeting of minds occurred between Sewell and Green during the course of their conversations on that evening.
Maryland State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt recommended Green be sentenced the same way Sewell was, a reduction of his original recommendation of three years in jail with all but six months worth suspended, but Green’s attorney successfully argued that his client’s cooperation with the investigation plus other factors warranted probation before judgment.
Jackson added that Green must consent to the ruling, and waive the right to appeal in order for the decision to take effect. Green agreed.
Probation before judgment is not a conviction. It places the charges on hold for a finite amount of time, in this case one year, of probation either supervised or unsupervised.
If the defendant is able to meet the terms of the probation for the specified amount of time, the defendant will then be very likely to get the records of the matter expunged.
The facts of the incident were never disputed. Close to midnight on Nov. 21, 2014 Doug Matthews, a guard at Eastern Correctional Institute at the time, was returning home from the Masonic Lodge in Pocomoke City. As he was making the drive, which was only a matter of blocks, his car struck two others but he continued to his residence, about another three blocks, before the car stopped functioning.
The owners of the damaged cars discovered what Matthews testified he did as he exited the car — the right front wheel among other parts had been torn from the vehicle by the impact, and was laying in the street where the collision occurred.
Matthews was never charged in connection to the incident. The behavior of both Sewell and Green during the course of the investigation led the grand jury to indict the pair in July.