Four James Monroe High School students were convicted yesterday of a Jan. 20 misdemeanor assault on a Spotsylvania County teen stabbed to death that night.
Each teen was convicted of one count of assault on 16-year-old Courtland High School junior Baron Braswell II.
Spotsylvania Juvenile Judge Joseph J. Ellis sentenced each of the teens to perform 80 hours of community service within the next 120 days. They will be able to choose an appropriate form of service and must provide written proof of completion to Ellis.
"You've got a debt to repay to the community," Ellis told the four Fredericksburg teens.
The misdemeanor conviction was a significant reduction from the initial charges. When the trial started Friday, a total of five JM students faced felony charges of participating in a street gang and attempted malicious wounding. All of the gang participation charges were dismissed, and one teen was cleared of all charges.
Marvin M. Parker II, 17, who is accused of stabbing Braswell to death at a CD-release party at the Howard Johnson motel in the Four-Mile Fork area, is charged with one count of first-degree murder. He will be tried as an adult, Ellis ruled Friday.
Spotsylvania Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely presented his case against the JM students Friday. The accounts of his witnesses differed, but the four teens all were identified as being involved in kicking Braswell on the motel conference room floor.
Four defense attorneys--Mark Gardner, Patricia Kelly, Eugene Frost and John Spencer--put on their cases yesterday.
A 17-year-old JM student who wasn't charged testified that he and Braswell scuffled while "Knuck if You Buck" by Crime Mob played and students jumped around. He and Braswell bumped into each other, and Braswell landed a punch to his lip.
Braswell's father said after court that he doubts his son was the aggressor. He said he taught his son to defend himself if attacked, but not to provoke.
Other witnesses at the party testified yesterday that the JM boys who were charged did not take part in the fight. One witness testified that as many as 40 people were involved in the fight.
Neely said after court that additional people were investigated, but detectives could not positively identify anyone involved other than the people charged. He said there won't be any additional charges.
In closing arguments, defense attorneys said there was too much discrepancy between witness testimonies to convict the teens. They said that Braswell suffered no injuries other than the fatal stab wound to his heart, and that the JM students are not responsible for Parker's actions.
"My heart goes out to the Braswell family," Gardner added.
Neely acknowledged that the cases against Parker and the JM boys are totally different, and he said he doubts the JM students will ever cause problems again. But he said the teens still committed a crime.
"It would be a sad day if multiple people could kick a person when he's down and walk away from it," Neely said.
After a 45-minute recess to review his 40 pages of notes on the case, Judge Ellis returned to the courtroom with his verdict.
He commended Braswell's father for the dignity he's shown throughout the proceedings. He said it's not appropriate to punish the boys for an unanticipated stabbing, but he said the teens did play a role in setting the death in motion. Despite the conflicting evidence, Ellis determined that the boys would not have stayed on the sidelines while their football teammate was in a fight.
Each of the four boys already served about three weeks in juvenile detention and the past couple of months on house arrest or electronic monitoring. Ellis determined there was no need for additional time.
Ellis warned the boys against the kind of imitation gangster activity that led to the gang charges being filed. That included flashing hand signals on a picture posted on myspace.com. Ellis told the boys to use this entire incident as a lesson going forward.
"This isn't the end of your lives," Ellis said.
None of the lawyers indicated plans to appeal, although some said they were considering it. One teen's father disputed the ruling, saying his son was lumped into a fight he wasn't in.
"My son, he's innocent," he said. "To me, there's no justice."
Family members of the other defendants declined comment.
Braswell's father and Neely said they were satisfied with the outcome.
"Accountability was properly assigned," Braswell Sr. said. "The judge was very fair."
The Fredericksburg School Board was scheduled to discuss student matters at a meeting last night. Superintendent Dale Sander said previously that students convicted of a misdemeanor must go before a disciplinary committee that makes a recommendation to Sander, who then takes the case to the School Board.
After last night's board meeting, Sander declined to comment. He said he wants to discuss the matter with the teens and their families first.
Neely apologized for wrongfully accusing the boys of being in a gang called the "Mayfield Mob," named after the city neighborhood. He said they acted like they were in a gang by flashing the hand signals and dressing alike.
Ellis joined Neely in warning the JM students--as well as any members of the community--against imitation gang activity.
"You have played a dangerous game," Ellis told the defendants, "posturing and posing as something you clearly are not."
To reach BILL FREEHLING:
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com