La Plata, MD – A young man trying to turn his life around with music will face sentencing Oct. 28 for violating probation, said Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West Wednesday, Oct. 15 in La Plata.
Brandon Dion Carr, 23 of Oxon Hill, was before West for a sentencing hearing.
Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Tiffany Campbell said the defendant served five years of a 15-year sentence before he was granted probation.
“The defendant was on probation for robbery,” Campbell said. “One condition of that probation was to report as directed to his probation officer. In 2013, he did not report for some time period,” she added.
Charles County Public Defender Michael Beach told the court the defendant didn’t live within walking distance of where he needed to report.
“He had been living with his mom, but for a variety of reasons, including some issues with his step-father, he had to move,” Beach said. “This isn’t someone who has willfully not reported. If you don’t have a car or can’t get a ride, it’s rough. He is reporting regularly now.”
Beach said that the 10-month period of having no transportation mirrored the time period in which he did not report to his probation officer.
The court heard an endorsement from Waverly Lewis, a music producer from Oxon Hill who is working with Carr in an effort to help him launch a musical career.
“He has artistry,” Lewis said. “If we can get him through this, we can get him to a bigger stage.”
“It takes me to another world,” Carr said of the music. “Just being able to do something I love to do, I’m trying to do something with my life.”
West scheduled Carr’s sentencing for violation of probation for Oct. 28 and told him to continue to report to his probation officer in the meantime.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com