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Plunkett found not guilty |
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Thursday, 29 October 2009 |
By Davida Hill-Beckum
Daily Times Leader
Shasta Plunkett, a West Point City employee, was found not guilty of disturbing the peace Tuesday night by Judge Mark Cliett.
After more than two hours of testimony, Cliett ruled in the defendant's favor saying he did not believe Plunkett was “loud and boisterous” during the Oct. 2 incident.
Plunkett, who is a lead servicemen with the Light and Water Department, testified that he exchanged words with Jefferson on the morning of Oct. 2 at a local truck stop.
According to Randy Jones, chief administrative officer for the city of West Point, Plunkett was not acting in the scope of his employment.
Wednesday afternoon, Plunkett furnished a list of job duties which included “working with the Court Systems to collect 'BADD' debts...
In his sworn testimony, Marvin Jefferson, the Plaintiff, said he encountered Plunkett at the store around 1:15 a.m. on Oct. 2.
“He begin loudly asking me about an unpaid bill,” Jefferson said. “He was calling another individual's name.”
Jefferson said he asked Plunkett on several occasions if he could come to the office during business hours to discuss the delinquent bill.
“I told him more than one time that we could handle this business someplace else,” Jefferson said. “He had my number, he could have called. He had my address. He had several ways of contacting me. We could have handled this another time and place.”
Another witness for the prosecution, Vanessa Nance, an employee of the store, testified the conversation was loud and she felt uncomfortable by the questions Plunkett asked her regarding an application for an employee with the city, which had been filed by another employee.
“He said he wasn't going to hire her,” said Nance, who claimed Plunkett said he wanted to hire her. “I told that I did not apply.”
When the loud conversation continued, Nance said she approached Jefferson and asked him what was going on.
Rod Ray, attorney for Plunkett, referred to Jefferson as a “player” who was embarassed by Plunkett's remarks.
Ray questioned Jefferson about a police report he filed after the incident, which stated Jefferson was upset about a references to a former girlfriend.
During closing statement, Prosecuter Angela Lairy claimed the “loud” conversation, which Plunkett continued after being asked to stop, constituted disturbing the peace.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 30 October 2009 )
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