SOUTH BEND - Derrick T. Justice, 20, of Pe Ell, entered guilty pleas to first degree malicious mischief with aggravating factors, taking a motor vehicle without permission, and bail jumping.
Justice, and co-defendant Tanner Buchannan, of Menlo, who earlier entered a guilty plea, were accused of taking an excavator and Cat and destroying a dump truck. The vehicles had been left on an active job site.
"It's unfortunate that these two young men did something so incredibly stupid, but apparently they had been drinking and thought it would be enjoyable to play around on some equipment," Pacific County Prosecutor Mark McClain told the Herald. "While that alone would have been a felony, either their inexperience or poor decisions caused them to push the dump truck down a hill damaging trees and the truck. They tried to use the equipment to get the truck back up the hill, but caused significant damage. They left, but eventually returned and completely crushed the dump truck.
"The victim was obviously angry and this has cost him significantly, but he was willing to see these young men serve some jail time rather than a prison sentence if they made restitution, and I agreed," McClain said.
"Mr. Justice has agreed to provide an initial payment of $10,000 towards the approximately $64,000 in restitution that appears to be owed at this point, but if he doesn't, he will likely serve a prison sentence rather than a few months in the county jail," McClain added.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 3, 1:30 pm in Superior Court.
Bircher Sentenced for Assault
Justin E. Bircher, 27, of Long Beach, entered a guilty plea to third degree assault, a felony.
Following a night of drinking, Bircher made the wise decision to call a cab for a ride home. However, the driver who responded happened to be the current boyfriend of Bircher's ex-girlfriend. The cab driver agreed to allow the ride, but eventually asked Bircher to leave the cab when Bircher became confrontational.
Bircher would not immediately leave the cab and instead put the driver in a choke-hold until Bircher's companion broke up the altercation.
"A choking is actually second degree assault, a strike offense, but after speaking with the victim of the offense, and seeing that Mr. Bircher has almost no criminal history, I agreed with the victim that a lessor felony charge still protected the community while holding Mr. Bircher accountable for his actions," McClain explained. "Mr. Bircher will serve three months in jail and complete an alcohol evaluation and treatment while on probation with the Department of Corrections."