A Vancouver man who chased a group of teenagers with a meat cleaver after a confrontation on his property was sentenced Tuesday in Clark County Superior Court to 30 days of work crew.
Dwight C. Moses, 42, previously pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in connection with the June 21 incident.
Court records say Moses chased the teens after they attempted to cut through his property. However, his defense attorney Nick Wood said Tuesday that Moses was trying to stop a potential confrontation between the teens and another child in the neighborhood.
Police responded to a disturbance near 29th and R streets after a teen said he was being chased by a man with a meat cleaver. Kace Blackburn said he and two other friends tried to take a shortcut through the property at 2914 R St. to get to a nearby alley. They walked up the steps in the front yard and were addressed by a man, later identified as Moses, who was sitting in a chair, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court.
Blackburn told police that Moses said they couldn’t cross through his property, so they all turned around and left. He said they went around the block and accessed the alley from 29th Street. However, as they walked down the alley, Moses walked into the alley from his property, carrying a large meat cleaver, the affidavit said.
Moses reportedly told the teens to go away and began charging at them with the meat cleaver, Blackburn said. The trio began running from Moses, and Blackburn ran into the front yard of a stranger’s house and asked her to call 911, court records said.
When police arrived at the home, they observed two people in a hammock and a large meat cleaver lying on the ground a few feet away, according to court documents. Moses told police he had confronted the three teens who tried to cut through his property but denied chasing them with the meat cleaver, the affidavit said.
During sentencing, Deputy Prosecutor James Smith asked the judge to sentence Moses to a total of 30 days in jail. He said Moses already had 15 days’ credit.
Wood argued that his client should be able to serve the 15 remaining days on a work crew. He said the only reason Moses pleaded guilty was to guarantee avoiding prison time.
Judge Robert Lewis ordered that Moses serve a total of 30 days on a work crew.
