Remember Holly Mitchell? He is the teenager who was found in possession of an M-16 assault rifle & magazine clip at a West Mecklenburg High School football game on Sept. 29, 2006. (View Post)At the time of Holly Mitchell’s arrest for possession of a gun on school property, he was on probation for stealing a car in November of 2005.
According to court documents, Holly and his partner in crime Rashawn Hood, were caught in a stolen vehicle by police on Nov 22, 2005.
Holly Mitchell struck a deal with prosecutors and pled guilty to conspiracy to commit larceny of a motor vehicle. Holly was sentenced on August 14, 2006. He was sentenced to a 36 month suspended sentence; supervised probation for 36 months; 72 hours of community service (to be completed within 90 days); $100 restitution to the victim; obtain a GED/High School diploma within 18 months and he must pay probation fees & court costs.
Less than two months after Mitchell was sentenced, on Oct 5, 2006, his probation officer filed a “probation violation report.’ Holly violated his probation by not performing any community service hours and he was not paying his court fees. The court issued a warrant, he was arrested and spent eight days in jail.Mitchell’s probation officer filed a second ‘probation violation report’ on Dec 8, 2006. Holly’s violations included the same as the first report and his probation officer added his Sept 29th possession of a weapon charge to his list of probation violations.
Holly Mitchell appeared in Superior Court on January 4, 2007 for his probation violation hearing. At the hearing, the District Attorney’s office, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and his probation officer recommended that Mitchell's probation be revoked and he serve out his full sentence of 5-6 months in the department of corrections.During the hearing, Prosecutor Gabrielle Macon presented the MK-16 assault rifle and magazine clip Holly had at the football game as evidence. She informed the Judge of Holly’s continuous criminal behavior and his wanton disregard of a Judge’s order. The Judge also heard testimony from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers investigating the weapon case.
Also in the courtroom was Holly Mitchell’s mother. She made an impassioned plea to the Judge not to send Holly to jail. The Judge listened...
Judge Linwood O. Foust disregarded the recommendations of Holly’s probation officer, CMPD police officers and the prosecutor. He gave Holly a slap on the hand and sentenced him to the following conditions of release: 10 days of weekend jail (Friday 6pm- Sunday 6pm); He must pay owed court costs (payments of $60/mo starting on Feb 4th); He must obtain a high school diploma in 15 months and he is not allowed on any CMS/school property for 2 years.Our court system is beyond broken. If the DA doesn't dismiss the charges and the felon is actually sentenced- it doesn't seem to matter if they violate probation. Mitchell's next scheduled court date is on March 1, 2007.