One of four people charged in a vandalizing spree in Black Creek and Pembroke last September pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay restitution and serve probation.
Melanie Combs, 19, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jay Stewart to pay $6,130 and serve five years of probation after she pleaded guilty on May 31 to vandalizing Hendrix Park, Bryan County High School, the Black Creek Golf Course and a private residence Sept. 8-10, court records show.
Combs was ordered to serve five years on each of the four felony charges – two counts of interference with government property and two counts of criminal damage to property – but they will run concurrently.
Three others also have been charged, two of them minors at the time, along with Comba, James Jernigan, 20, is scheduled to appear in court July 2.
Information wasn’t released on the alleged roles of 17-year-old Tam Duc Le and a 16-year-old boy in the incident.
Le was a juvenile at the time of the alleged crime and is reportedly recovering from severe injuries sustained in an April car wreck that killed Pembroke teens Laura Cobb and Melissa and Heather Arthur. It is unclear when he may appear in court.
BCSD Detective David Ellis arrested the four a week after the incident. The charges consist of two counts of interference with government property and two counts of criminal damage to property.
The weekend prior to their arrest, the four allegedly spray-painted walls and vending machines at Bryan County High School. Also, a private residence in Ellabell was hit in which the walls were spray-painted and light fixtures were busted. At Hendrix Park, they allegedly spray-painted profanities on the pavement, walls, tennis courts and elsewhere and destroyed several toilets. Signs also were vandalized.Property at Black Creek Golf Course was also damaged during the spree.