SOUTH BEND - Derrick Justice, 21, of Pe Ell was sentenced, concluding a case that began August 18, 2015.
The investigation showed that Justice and a co-defendant had been drinking in the Trap Creek area and encountered an excavator and dump truck parked on a Weyerhaeuser job site. The pair began pushing the dump truck around with the excavator before, according to them, accidentally pushing the dump truck down the hill. They claimed the balance of the damage, which resulted in a total loss of the dump truck, was caused in their effort to use the excavator to get the truck back onto the road.
"This was an awful case of young men going on a monumentally stupid thing that resulted in felony convictions for them and forever altering their lives, but their conduct warranted felony convictions," Pacific County Prosecutor Mark McClain told the Herald. "That said, this also resulted in a significant loss to the victim of this offense and he really wanted to be made whole as quickly as possible to get back to work. With that in mind, I agreed to a sentence which had Mr. Justice provide $10,000 at the time of sentence for the victim with an additional $5,000 by December, a sentence the victim was supportive of."
Justice was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 12 months of community custody.
"Mr. Justice also plead guilty to three felony counts," added McClain, "which means that if he commits almost any felony he will go to prison."
Justice, like the co-defendant, were both ordered to complete alcohol treatment and will be required to pay restitution.
"Restitution in the co-defendant's case was set at over $100,000, which not only included the loss of the vehicle, but the lost revenue to the victim and both of these young men will be equally responsible for that cost until it is repaid," McClain said. "Unfortunately, recent cases had tied the court's hands to impose jail sentences for those who don't pay their legal obligations -- this was also why it was important for me, and the victim, to get as much money paid up front."
Marshall Sentenced
for Residential
Burglary
Tyler L. Marshall, 25, of Snohomish, entered a guilty plea to residential burglary and was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months in prison.
On September 28, 2015 Long Beach Police Officer Michael Parker responded to the 1100 block of Idaho for a burglary complaint which had occurred while the homeowner was away at work. The investigation revealed the burglar had entered through a large dog door and taken approximately $5,500 worth of property.
"The interesting part of this case was how the officers were able to link Mr. Marshall to the theft," McClain said. "County officers were discussing with Officer Parker an unusual contact they had earlier with Mr. Marshall. Deputies described Mr. Marshall as apparently trying to hide a key under his body in the bed he was in while being taken into custody. Officer Parker recalled a key had been taken in the burglary and confirmed the missing key was from the earlier burglary.
"Officer Parker kept digging and digging and it was his dogged determination that ultimately solved this case and allowed us to send Mr. Marshall to prison for nearly three years," McClain added.
Hall Pleads Guilty
to Witness Tampering
Roger Hall, 53, of Long Beach, entered guilty pleas to witness tampering and felony violation of a no contact order, and he was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
"Mr. Hall sent a text message to his girlfriend immediately after leaving court where the judge had ordered him not to contact his girlfriend," McClain explained. "Then, while in jail awaiting trial on that no contact order violation, Mr. Hall called her from his jail cell and tried to convince her not to come to court. For these reasons I believed a prison sentence was warranted."
Hall was further ordered to have no contact with the victim of this case for an additional year and will be on supervision by the Department of Corrections following his release from prison.