St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor said Wednesday that District Court Judge Alan Furr granted youthful offender status Tuesday to seven former Pell City High School students allegedly involved with the vandalism of the Pell City High School in May.
The students were initially charged as adults with first-degree criminal mischief and third-degree burglary, both Class C felonies. The students charged were Samuel McCloud, 18; Alexander Hopson, 19; Jonathan Grimes Jr., 18; Haley White, 18; Desmond Dawkins, 19; Jarrod Chatman, 18; and Devon Jones, 18. A juvenile was also charged in the incident.
The senior students were not allowed to participate in the May 2012 graduation ceremony at the high school after Furr set a condition for each student’s $5,000 bond, which prohibited them from returning to school grounds.
The senior students arrested were allowed to graduate, even though they did not participate in the graduation ceremony, a school attorney told the court in May.
A preliminary hearing was tentatively set for Tuesday, but instead a youthful offender status hearing was held, which was not open to the public.
“All parties were able to reach a resolution that resolves all charges through either dismissal or youthful offender treatment,” attorneys Erskine Funderburg and Lance Bell said in a joint statement. “Youthful offender status seals the record and prohibits any further discussion of the matter by the parties.”
School officials said the cleanup at the high school cost the school board $10,360.
Contact David Atchison at datchison@dailyhome.com.
