Probation

Darrin Jones was questioned by a probation officer about an alleged assault last summer, but it was not a “custodial interrogation” and thus will not be suppressed if his case goes to trial, a Washington County Circuit Court Judge ruled Tuesday. Jones, 44, of Gwynn Oak, Md., is charged with first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment in an incident that allegedly took place while he was living at Wells House, a drug treatment facility on East Baltimore Street, according to court documents.

A retired Hagerstown Police Department lieutenant was given probation before judgment after being found guilty in Washington County Circuit Court of assaulting his estranged wife. Timothy M. Wolford, 50, was found guilty of second-degree assault following a bench trial before Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. Long then struck his finding of guilty and placed Wolford on one year's supervised probation and ordered him to pay $755 in fines and costs. A person who receives probation before judgment can petition the court in the future to expunge the charge if he successfully completes probation, Assistant State's Attorney Leon Debes said after the trial.

A Chambersburg man who pleaded guilty in New York to one count of a criminal sexual act with a victim younger than 17 was sentenced Nov. 26 to 10 years probation. Robert W. Murray, who was arrested Feb. 3, must register as a sex offender, according to online court records. In a criminal complaint provided previously by the Richard County (N.Y.) District Attorney's Office, detectives allege Murray performed a sex act while in a vehicle Jan. 13 on Staten Island. The boy later allegedly sent a picture of his genitals to Murray at his request, according to the complaint.

A former local band director who was charged in May in a domestic dispute that ended in a three-vehicle crash near Philadelphia pleaded guilty on Monday to three counts of recklessly endangering another person, a Pennsylvania court official said. John Edward Eckstine Jr., 55, whose last address was listed as 388 Key Circle in Hagerstown, was sentenced to four years of probation and 60 hours of community service, according to a Montgomery County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas clerk. The clerk said Eckstine also must take anger management counseling and cannot have contact with the co-defendant.

A Falling Waters, W.Va., man accused of mistreating more than 130 dogs and several cats pleaded guilty Thursday in Berkeley County Magistrate Court to 10 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. Rocky Del Trolio, 55, was placed on two years of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay court costs, and a six-month jail sentence was suspended as part of a plea agreement reached between Berkeley County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney R. Greg Garretson and Trolio's attorney, Paul G. Taylor.

A Hagerstown man's testimony about his educational background did not sit well with the Washington County Circuit Court judge who sentenced him Thursday to 18 months in jail for violating probation on a theft conviction. Nathan Michael Moquin, 23, was in court for a violation hearing on allegations he had missed appointments with his probation officer in December 2011 and January 2012. He was on probation for a 2011 conviction for theft of less than $1,000. During the hearing he took the stand and was asked about his educational background, at which point he testified he was a graduate of the “University of Johns Hopkins Medical Center” and that he was working on a second degree in statistics and psychology.

A Washington County Circuit Court judge gave a Williamsport man 24 hours of unsupervised probation for grabbing one of four boys who he alleged was vandalizing his home. Vincent Allen Strewsewski, 45, entered an Alford plea to second-degree assault, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but an acknowledgment that the state has enough evidence to gain a conviction. Judge Daniel P. Dwyer accepted the plea and gave Strewsewski probation before judgment and one day on probation.

The founder of the West Virginia Society of Ghost Hunters, who was found guilty in 2007 of practicing medicine and counseling without a license, failed to abide by the terms of her probation, attorneys said Monday. Susan R. Crites, who was placed on three years of probation in 2008 in lieu of an 18-month jail sentence, failed to get counseling and also failed to pay about $945 in court costs, according to Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely. In a hearing Monday, Crites, of Hedgesville, W.Va., was released from further probation supervision, but the unpaid court costs were ordered by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Gray Silver III to be converted into a civil judgment against her. Chief Public Defender Deborah A. Lawson told Silver that Crites abided by the terms of her probation otherwise.

The House of Representatives voted Monday to approve legislation authored by Rep. Todd Rock that would allow school districts in Pennsylvania to retain school resource officers (SROs) such as municipal police officers, as well as probation personnel, who are experienced in juvenile issues. Rock, R-Franklin, said in a news release that under current state law, school districts are not permitted to use taxpayer funds to contract with local police departments or county probation offices in order to have their personnel keep regular hours and interact with school personnel.

A Washington County Circuit Court judge Tuesday gave a Smithsburg man a three-year suspended sentence and ordered him to pay $1,000 in restitution in connection with the theft of 200 pounds of copper wire from a Potomac Edison substation last year that caused about $8,000 in damages, according to court records. Judge W. Kennedy Boone III also placed Michael Steven Bray, 31, on three-years' probation. Bray was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree burglary Tuesday.