A Baltimore judge Wednesday admonished two soldiers for discharging a gun after an altercation outside a city bar, but said their time is better served in Iraq than behind bars.
Pfc. Denario Wesson and Spc. Joshua Johnson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor handgun violations, but Judge Sylvester Cox agreed to delay signing a probation order until they return from 15-month tours in Iraq, where they will head Tuesday.
Wesson said he fired two rounds in the air to ward off a threatening crowd after a confrontation inside a Cherry Hill club March 19.
Both men were ordered to forfeit their guns, a top priority for prosecutors, and state?s attorney spokesman Joe Sviatko said the office will continue to prosecute gun crimes “without partiality.”
“It?s important to note that these two defendants did in fact plead guilty today and admitted their criminal wrong-doing in court before the judge vacated the guilty plea and entered a probation before judgment,” Sviatko said.
The case drew media attention when defense attorney Arthur Frank, an unsuccessful judicial candidate, vocally criticized Baltimore City?s State?s Attorney Patricia Jessamy for refusing to postpone the case until after Johnson, 24, and Wesson, 19, returned from Iraq.
Their unit, based in Fort Hood, Texas, has already departed. By delaying the men?s deployment, Frank accused Jessamy of hindering the U.S. war effort.
