Pierce County Juvenile Court reduces restitution to $82,000 for youths

Three years ago when two youths vandalized a Sumner cemetery, they were required by the Pierce County Juvenile Court to perform community service and pay $170,000 in restitution.

A Dec. 15 hearing officially reduced the amount owed to $82,000, although the community service obligations remain unfulfilled.

The youths had been given two years to comply and in that time one youth performed 73.5 hours of service at the cemetery. The other individual did not show up at the location.

“The probation department wasn’t actively monitoring the actions,” Sumner City Attorney Brett Vinson said.

Vinson, who attended the hearing and acted as a special prosecutor, said the department should alert the city when someone required to perform restitution fails to do so. To the best of the city’s knowledge, no such indication was sent.

The pair appealed the restitution amount, which was reduced by the court.

The city filed a request to allow Vinson to be a special prosecutor, to file a motion for reconsideration.

“The court took about a year to decide and they denied my motion for reconsideration,” Vinson said.

The court’s opinion was the city could not require restitution on behalf of individuals whose gravestones were damaged.

Two families related to people whose gravesites were damaged said they wanted restitution and, because they were acting on their own behalf, the court ordered restitution to be paid to provide money for labor and materials.

The Dec. 15 hearing was to officially set the new payment amount of $82,000, following the appeal.

“The second issue was to determine whether the court had the jurisdiction to force or compel the youth to finish their community service to the Sumner cemetery,” Vinson said. “The court’s opinion was they no longer could.”

When the court issues a sentence it has authority for a certain period of time. Because that time expired, the court no longer had the ability to threaten the youths with jail time if they failed to comply.

Vinson said he suggested “a creative resolution,” in which the youths could work off their debt by performing community service.

“We call it sweat equity,” he said.

In a telephone interview after the hearing, Vinson felt the two appeared apologetic at the hearing, but the city has seen that before. He added he would like to see them held accountable.

“I’m disappointed that the probation department and the court system failed to hold these two individuals accountable. I’m disappointed that the two defendants have failed to escape their responsibility to the community, to the court and even to themselves,” Vinson said.

Reach Chaz Holmes at cholmes@courierherald.com or 360-802-8208.