By Staff
Sex offender and others also sentenced
By TED STRONG
Staff Writer
Beaufort County Superior Court was in session the week of April 6. Below are pleas, sentences and other details of select cases, as taken from court files.
A man involved in a shootout on 13th Street in Washington pleaded guilty to several charges, receiving probation for his role in a shooting incident last year.
Vito A. Langley, who listed his address as 25 White Tail Lane, received three years of supervised conditional probation, fines and a suspended sentence of two years to three years, two months in prison after he pleaded guilty to discharging a weapon into an occupied property.
According to a motion filed by the prosecution, Langley was shot while exchanging gunfire.
The motion says the police officer investigating the incident got a confession to that effect. “(The) victim/suspect, Vito Langley, confessed to firing a firearm at the unknown suspect that shot him,” the motion reads.
According to a grand-jury indictment, Langley fired a .22-caliber rifle into an occupied home at 607 W. 13th St. on June 12, 2008.
He also received three years of conditional probation and a six- to eight-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and possession with intent to sell or distribute marijuana. The assault charge was originally filed as assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and it relates to an incident involving Langley, a woman and a knife, according to court documents.
Jerry Davis pleaded guilty to committing a sex offense involving a person in a parental role and taking indecent liberties with a child. He was sentenced to one year, three months to two years, three months in prison. According to an indictment, the assaults took place between Nov. 12, 2003, and Nov. 11, 2004.
According to the indictment, Davis engaged in a sex act with a girl with whom he had a parental relationship when she was 15 and he was older than 21. The indecent-liberties charge stems from an incident when the child was 16, according to the indictment.
The following dispositions, according to court files, were handed down:
Craig Demetress Carter pleaded guilty to three counts of possession with intent to sell or distribute marijuana and one count of failure to register as a sex offender. He received one year, three months to one year, six months in prison, and he was ordered to pay fees.
Melvin Lee Jordan pleaded guilty to possession with intent to sell or distribute cocaine and obtaining property by false pretenses. He received a sentence of one year, eight months to two years in prison, plus payment of fees.
Travis Earl Dixon pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana and cocaine with the intent to sell or distribute them. He received eight to 10 months incarceration. He will also have to pay fees.
Robert Blount pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen motor vehicle and received seven to nine months incarceration.
Mark William Allen Jr. pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen firearm, discharging a firearm within the city limits and possession with intent to sell or distribute cocaine and received 36 months probation, including six months intensive probation, 50 hours of community service, other conditions and fees and a seven- to nine-month suspended prison term. He also pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and marijuana with intent to sell or distribute them, and he received an identical sentence for that offense.
Michael Luten pleaded guilty to two counts of breaking and entering, and he received three years of probation, including six months of intensive probation and 50 hours of community service and a eight- to 10-month suspended sentence. He also pleaded guilty to another count of breaking and entering and a count of safecracking, for which he received a like sentence. He also must pay fees.
William L. Jefferson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burn a building. He was sentenced to 36 months supervised probation, including six months intensive probation, 50 hours community service, restitution of $1,000, other conditions and fees and a suspended sentence of one year to one year, three months in prison. Initially, Jefferson had been charged with burning a building.
Jonathan Ray Cooper pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. He was sentenced to three years of probation, including six months intensive probation, 50 hours of community service, other conditions and payment of fees and a suspended sentence of one year, four months to one year, eight months in prison.