Godette found guilty on most charges
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on July 23, 2009 1:46 PM
A jury found a Forrest Knolls Road teen not guilty of an assault on a law enforcement officer after authorities alleged he severely beat a jail guard, but convicted him on other counts.
The jury found Christian Ray Godette, 18, guilty of common law robbery, second-degree kidnapping and escaping from a local jail, which is a misdemeanor.
Judge Arnold O. Jones sentenced Godette to a total of 3 to 41/2 years in jail for the second-degree kidnapping count.
The misdemeanor count of escaping a local jail will run concurrently with the larger sentence, according to court records.
Godette also was given credit for 185 already served days in the Wayne County Jail.
The judge recommended psychological counseling for Godette, but did not recommend work release.
Attorney Robert Smith, who represented Godette, was in court this morning and not available for comment.
Sheriff Carey Winders said he respected the jury's decision, but said he was disappointed by the verdict of not guilty of assault on a law enforcement officer inflicting serious injury.
However, Winders said Smith "really hammered them on the serious injury part."
"I understand that some may have felt later that serious injury would require him to stay in the hospital overnight, which he did not."
Winders said the detention officer was bruised, but also took a medication that made him bruise more easily.
The sheriff felt, however, that more evidence could have been presented about the severity of the detention officer's injuries.