La Plata, MD – Kevin Reynolds Jackson, 31 of Washington, DC was given a break by former Charles County District Court Judge Steven G. Chappelle on robbery and second-degree assault charges in 2003.
He served his time and was on probation when he was picked up on violation of probation charges for assault with a deadly weapon.
Tuesday, July 28, he was back in court before Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West, saying he had found work, a new girlfriend and had turned his life around.
West wasn’t buying it.
“The worst thing you can do when you’re on parole is get charged,” the judge said. “When you’re on probation, you are essentially saying I will follow all the rules. What makes your case sad is you committed a worse offense than the one you were originally charged with.”
Charles County Assistant Public Defender Michele Harewood told West that her client was, at one time, “Unfortunately, hanging with the wrong people.
“He’s gotten a job, in addition he has entered into an apprenticeship which is something that will lead him to a career,” Harewood said. “Since he was incarcerated, he has gotten an apartment on his own, supervised by his DC probation agent, his urinalysis has been negative from 2007 to 2015.”
“He has an awesome support system right now,” Brittany Moore, Jackson’s girlfriend, told the court. “He’s been working. He gets up at 5 in the morning. He opened lines of credit on his own.”
“I came home and started working,” Jackson told West. “I’ve been staying away from the negative. Others thought I could never do it, but I kept trying.”
“He was on probation when he committed another violent act,” Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Constance Kopelman told the court. “He’s on probation, he seems to be doing great, but here we are.”
Kopelman said Jackson is facing two year, six months and two days of backup time.
“Some people have a hard time ‘getting it.’ ” Harewood said. “Some get it sooner than others. Finally, it smacked him in the face. He got it.”
West said he wasn’t going to give Jackson all of his backup time, but calling the man’s situation “the harsh reality of probation,” he gave the defendant a choice of doing 14 months on work release from the Charles County Detention Center, or he could do the jail time at the Maryland Department of Corrections.
Harewood said her client would go to the local jail on work release, but after Jackson was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, he later reappeared before the judge.
“Your honor, Mr. Jackson has had a change of heart,” she said. “He is going to go to DOC.”
She asked if the judge would consider allowing her client to report to the jail Friday, July 31.
“I never ran or nothing,” Jackson told West.
West granted the request, telling the defendant to report to the Charles County Detention Center at 10 a.m. Friday.
“If you don’t show up, they will charge you with escape, which is three years to run concurrent to any time you are already serving,” the judge warned.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
