NEWARK — His attorney and his family say he got wrapped up in the moment and bowed to peer pressure. Licking County Common Pleas Court Judge David Branstool said his actions earned him four years in prison.
Dustin Nelson, 25, last known address 613 Glenbrook Drive, Apt. 20, Newark, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Thursday to concurrent four-year prison terms for one count each of felonious assault and participating in a criminal gang, both second-degree felonies.
Police said Nelson was involved in the April 16 assault of a homeless man and with the Ohio Boyz gang between Jan. 20 and May 19.
Assistant Licking County Prosecutor Christopher Reamer said Nelson had driven a group of Ohio Boyz members to the bridge near Locust and First streets in Newark for a planned assault of a homeless man. Nelson participated in the assault, which left the victim with several broken bones and other injuries. Nelson also participated in several other criminal activities with members of the gang, including vandalizing vehicles in May.
Reamer said Nelson, whose nickname in the gang was “Red,” admitted his involvement in the gang when police interviewed him and had been cooperative with authorities while the investigation was ongoing and while on pre-trial bond.
Both Reamer and Nelson’s attorney, Stephanie Gussler, requested any prison sentence Nelson received on each count run at the same time as the other instead of consecutively.
Reamer requested a two-year prison sentence on each count, asking Branstool to take into account that Nelson turned himself in after his indictment was filed and had conducted himself appropriately while on bond.
Nelson was the only alleged member of the Ohio Boyz gang to be free on bond after his indictment. Three people indicted for offenses related to the gang are in the Licking County Justice Center on $200,000 bonds. One person is jailed on $300,000 bond.
Reamer said a prison sentence was appropriate for Nelson because of the serious harm the victim suffered. The victim also requested a prison sentence in a written impact statement submitted to Branstool.
“There were others in this gang that took part in more criminal acts,” Reamer said.
Gussler said Nelson has taken responsibility for his actions and had gotten swept up in the “fervor of the moment” during the April assault.
“There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t wish he could undo his actions,” she said. “He knows he should’ve been the one to make the right choice.”
Gussler asked for a sentence of community control, citing Nelson’s actions on bond and his lack of a felony record as an adult.
Nelson had misdemeanor convictions for complicity and criminal damaging that resulted in sentences for diversion programs, according to Licking County Municipal Court records.
Nelson’s wife and mother also asked the judge to be lenient in his sentence, saying Nelson wasn’t normally a fighter and had succumbed to the peer pressure of the other members of the group.
Nelson apologized to the victim, who was not in court Thursday, for his actions.
“I do feel bad for what had happened,” he said. “It’s not something I’d do on a daily basis.”
Branstool said the factors involved in the case did not overcome the legal presumption for prison on the two counts. He said Nelson and his co-defendants attacked a homeless person who was asleep and was more helpless than others might have been to stop the assault.
“This act, along with the acts in count two (participating in a criminal gang), those kinds of offense in particular, in my view, are more dangerous to the public and are in more need of stronger punishment than other cases we normally deal with,” he said. “You’ve had more opportunities than most people to address the issues that cause you to act this way.”
Branstool also said it was “troubling” to him Nelson took responsibility for his actions and expressed remorse when police interviewed him but denied involvement during a pre-sentence investigation interview.
“If your remorse is genuine, you may be a good candidate for judicial release,” Branstool said.
Nelson will be eligible to apply for judicial release after serving half of his four-year prison term.
Gussler asked for Nelson to be able to report to prison Jan. 2 so he would be able to spend Christmas with his family, including his two young children, but Branstool denied the request.
After the hearing, Reamer said he thought the sentence fit the crime.
“It was appropriate for the reasons the judge said about the organized criminal activity and the victim who was basically more vulnerable than most,” he said.
Gussler said Nelson had been anticipating receiving a prison term.
“We certainly would’ve liked to see the minimum sentence,” she said.
No decision has been made as to whether Nelson will appeal his sentence.
Several of Nelson’s co-defendants are scheduled to appear in court during the next few weeks.
Rocky VanValkenburg, one of Nelson’s co-defendants, is scheduled to go to trial next week in front of Branstool on four charges related to the Ohio Boyz gang. Brett VanValkenburg is scheduled to appear in front of Branstool on Dec. 23 for a change of plea and sentencing hearing for 10 counts related to his involvement with the gang.
Co-defendants Robert Wheeler and Nathan Speight have trial dates set for early 2014.
bbruner@newarkadvocate.com
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