Teen gets 30 days for courthouse scrawl
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on May 21, 2010 1:46 PM
A Belfast Road man accused of scrawling an obscenity on a Wayne County District Court wall faces 30 days in jail for a contempt of court charge.
Anthony Dreighton II, 19, was in court on relatively minor charges, including driving while license revoked and speeding.
Dreighton used his fingernail to write an obscene word in the aging finish on the long wooden seats in District Courtroom No. 3.
Bailiffs who found Dreighton's work reported it to Chief District Court Judge David Brantley.
"He was sitting here, waiting to have his case tried, and he said he was bored," Brantley said afterward. "We told him he would have plenty of time to think about it in 30 days."
Dreighton faces just probation on the other charges he was facing.
Brantley sentenced him to 12 months supervised probation and a suspended 45-day sentence for the driving while license revoked and speeding charges.
The judge said that Dreighton admitted to the offense, and he responded.
"He did it, the officers discovered it, and I charged him with contempt," Brantley said.
The seats in the Wayne County District Court are covered with similar obscene and other types of graffiti.
However, bailiffs said it is generally difficult for them to catch someone in the act.