A 19-year-old James City County man pleaded guilty to an assault and battery charge connected to a March incident when two police officers accused him of kicking them during a scuffle at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center.
Marquaze DeShawn Harris was taken to the hospital March 13 after a family member called the authorities and reported he was under the influence of a drug and behaving oddly. At the hospital, police say he had to be restrained and kicked two officers as they were leaving, according to Deputy Chief Stephen Rubino of the James City County Police Department.
Harris took a plea deal during a Friday appearance in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court, resulting in one felony assault on a law enforcement officer charge being dropped and the other being amended to a misdemeanor assault and battery, to which he entered the guilty plea. He was sentenced to one year in jail with all the time suspended and five years of probation.
“I don’t think you were acting as yourself,” Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court Judge Michael McGinty told Harris before he pronounced the sentence.
McGinty suspended the time after Williamsburg-James City County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Gaten told McGinty that Harris had no criminal record. McGinty said he took that into account along with Harris’ admission to having smoked marijuana — which hospital staff said could have been laced with Spice, a synthetic cannabinoid — prior to the incident.
The judge noted being under the influence is not an excuse before noting how had Harris been convicted of both of the felonies he was originally charged with, he would have faced a mandatory year in jail.
“You’ve got to address this,” he said to Harris, who is now receiving treatment.
“I’ve been learning to cope with myself without using illegal drugs,” Harris said. He said he was trying to “escape” by using marijuana.
Gaten, the prosecutor, said officers responded to the house on March 13 and found Harris, who appeared to be “very confused” and “slow to answer.” The officers found a smoking device in a car along with a silver plate, a grinder and tobacco leaves mixed with what appeared to be marijuana.
Harris was then taken to the hospital, where Gaten said he had to be restrained to receive treatment. As they were leaving the hospital, he kicked the two police officers, he said. Rubino said one officer sustained an injury to his groin while the other received injuries to an elbow and a thumb.
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