Two recent Park City High School graduates have entered Pleas in Abeyance, after they were charged with harassing a student this spring in a weight-lifting class.
Carter Noah Hall and Joseph Harper Lukrich, both 18-years-old, entered the agreements, with them pleading guilty to a reduced charge, in separate hearings in Third District Court on Monday.
The pleas in abeyance, if successful, would wrap up the prosecution of three Park City High students who were charged with victimizing a student, identified in court documents as “C”. The third case was resolved last week with Bernhardt Pederson entering a plea in abeyance to a charge of disorderly conduct.
The pleas in abeyance mean that if the defendants comply with conditions of the agreement within the next 12 months, the convictions will be dismissed.
The agreements Monday for the two youths, made to Judge Patrick Corum, were very similar. Carter Hall pled to one count of “Disruption of School Activities,” after being charged originally with Sexual Battery and Stalking.
Joseph Lukrich pled to “Disrupting the Operation of a School”. In return a charge of Sexual Batter was dropped.
County Prosecutor Blake Hills formally read the charge for Hall.
“On May 2nd of this year, here in a public school in Summit County, there was a weight lifting class going on. As an activity, the weight room was situated in a manner, there was a walk-way down the middle of it. While this activity was going on, the defendant sat on the head of a person who was lifting weights. Thus, disrupting the activity preventing it from going forward.”
The charge against Lukrich said his offense occurred at the same weight-lifting class in May.
“The defendant disrupted that activity by grabbing the weights and sitting on the persons head. The defendant would have reason to believe this would intimidate that person.”
The amended charges against the youths also say that they remained on the scene after being asked to leave by a school official.
The plea in abeyance agreements set the same conditions. They require Hall and Lukrich to pay a $500 fine. They must perform 50 hours of community service, must write a two-page paper on the effects of bullying. Must submit a letter of apology to the victim, given to the county, and have no contact with the victim.
If the defendants fail to meet the terms of the plea deals, they could be convicted on the Disruption charges, Class A Misdemeanors with a penalty of up to a year in the county jail and a $5,000 fine.
Judge Corum set a date in October for a review of the plea deals.
