[Purple Haize]

I see kids make bad choices everyday. I see kids repeat bad choices everyday. I see kids suffer from the consequences of their actions everyday and not learn a thing. I see a few kids who see the consequences of their actions and truly want to change. I pray Matt falls in that category.
I feel for the family and pray for their peace.

[grm]

I must say that I appreciate the prayerful responses that we have seen on this matter. It's about as together as I can remember, other than on the death of our Board member, in the years going back
to the Furnace - or whatever the name of it was.

I expected some personal snides, and other than one misplaced question, I have been, as said, very appreciative. I am praying that Tuesday brings some advancement in the legal issues. Praying for grace & mercy. Sometimes we need a couple things from God 1) A good kick in the butt 2) A big break. Spending Christmas as was done should have been a pretty good kick..... now, a big break?

[bballfan84]

I have known Matt Dunton since he was about 6 years old. I first met him at his dads Camp of Champs basketball camp in 1994 in San Antonio, Texas. He is a good kid who found the wrong road. I pray that this will be enough of a wake up call for him to turn his life around.

[bigsmooth]

Matt will remain in jail for now.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-vt-foot ... 5516.story

[IMBach]

Praying for the family.

[grm]

Thanks.

God bless... Thanks for everybody praying.

Should be charged with stupidity & misdemeanor assault.

It was a BB gun!

[Purple Haize]

Thanks.

God bless... Thanks for everybody praying.

Should be charged with stupidity & misdemeanor assault.

It was a BB gun!

The fact that it was a BB gun makes no difference. The law is going to look at intent. It may have been easier from a legal stand point if he had fired it. That would have proved it wasn't a 'fire arm'.

I see they both hired new lawyers. What I found interesting was the football player was released partially because he didn't have any previous record. I know he was able to post bond but does that mean Funton and the other kid had criminal records?

[grm]

According to the article, the judge also mentioned that Journell was not carrying the gun, so I wouldn't assume that this meant Dunton & the other Matt had records.
I believe Dunton's record to be clean - certainly has never been to court or anything like that.
He's basically a great kid who got off track & did something that was anything but smart.
I'm upset that a BB gun is being considered to be a "deadly weapon," and as far as intent, if his intent was to shoot somebody, why didn't he pull the trigger? Or, to put it another way, that he did not pull the trigger shows he did not intend to shoot anybody.

I know it's a mess, but Matt Dunton didn't punch anyone, ransack the apartment, or shoot anybody. He didn't hurt anybody, and if the other guys were scared, they didn't act it when they pursued & punched out the 2 Matts. If the "other two" thought they might get shot, would they really have gone back after them to exact revenge? Apparently they didn't believe he had a deadly weapon, nor did they believe he was disposed to employ a serious weapon against them.

Fine em, give them community service, & promise to throw away the key if they come back to court again.



Obviously, I have a bias, but I would gladly charge Dunton & Co. with misdemeanors & then see
how they handle the rest of their lives. If they're truly felons, they'll be back in court again

[bigsmooth]

Grm I'm not throwing stones at Matt and I hope that this all ends well for him and that he learns from this but haize is spot on. It does not matter if it was a BB gun. The "victim" did not know that. I suppose if I go to wells Fargo and point a BB gun at the teller and demand money that the judge is going to slap my hands? C'mon man! Please try and put your favoritism for the dunton's aside and look at it from a factual and legal standpoint. In the end I think a good attorney will get this plead down, but the fact he does have some minor legal issues according to one of the news reports is probably another reason why the judge denied bail. I know I'm praying for him as well as others, but we need to look at the facts and the law.

[grm]

I appreciate & understand what you're saying.

It was an idiotic thing to do. I do think that any other legal issues he had are very minor & not a factor in this matter.

All I'm saying is that some knuckleheads stole(?) some mj from some other knuckleheads, and everything blew up.

Matt is not really a felon, in terms of the reality of it. I hope they can plea this down, that he does not end up with a felony on his record for this rest of his life, and that he can live the rest of his life in a manner that shows he learned a great & hard lesson here, and that the experience will actually be better than 3 years of counselling or some rehab program.

Again, I do understand what you are saying, and take no issue with it. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

[bigsmooth]

The judge said that Journell was the only one without a crimninal record so no matter if he got caught with pot previously or got caught spray painting a building he has been charged with something because it's on his record. Maybe the "victims" we're packing heat when they went after them we don't know nor can you get in the mind of a college student who are very prone to act very stupid. I'm glad we can keep this civil and again I'm not throwing stones but carrying a gun and pulling it on someone whether it is real or not is used to invoke fear. I really hope that the time in jail has helped Matt reflect on this and grow closer to the Lord. I pray a good lawyer and a forgiving judge will look favorably on his upbringing.

[bigsmooth]

One more thing is yes indeed his prior record played a role in him remaining in jail. A clean record and first time offense and I'm sure he is not in jail today.

[grm]

Just remember, he did not request release on bond today. That was a legal decision based on advice from his new lawyer, or proposed new lawyer. The lawyer decision is being addressed
right this minute.

My understanding was that had he requested bond today, and had been denied, it would have been his last chance at bond, & he would have remained incarcerated unti trial. For that reason, they delayed any bond request today.

[grm]

And since we're mentioning priors, my understanding was that his only prior was a "disturbing the peace" and that the first judge said that it was not a factor in his decision.

[Purple Haize]

Any plea deal will no doubt involve a good size probation and some court ordered rehab and counseling. IMO, that is a great start. IF, this event causes Matt to hit rock bottom it will be a tremendous help. I know his family can count on some great support to get everything behind them and use it to move on.
I'm not sure if he will get out of this sans felony charge. Brandishing a weapon with intent is a tough one to plea down. I can see the B and E and probably the possession get pled down. The best hope is this is the bottom for him and all of our prayers and support help him get and stay on the right track.

[grm]

Agreed. & Thank you again for your interest, concern, and support.

[jmdickens]

This could turn into a simple misdemeanor or actual time......intent is always the key

Assault is an act (volitional movement) intended to cause apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact, which directly or indirectly causes reasonable apprehension of such contact.

apprehension, just means that the victim must believe they are going to be harmed...hence the BB gun is still considered a weapon of an assault.

intent, merely that the defendant(dunton) wanted the victim to feel scared bc of the potential harm of the BBgun.

Virginia's verion:
ASSAULT DEFINED. --An assault is an attempt or offer, with force and violence, to do some bodily hurt to another by means calculated to produce the end if carried into execution, as by leveling a gun at another within a distance from which, supposing it to be loaded, the contents might injure, or any similar act accompanied with circumstances denoting an intention coupled with a present ability of using actual violence against the person of another. Stith v. Commonwealth, No. 1210-00-2, 2001 Va. App. LEXIS 245 (Ct. of Appeals May 8, 2001).

[grm]

Once again, understood & not disputed. However, when Matt could have, he didn't, which must say something about "intent."

Dorenzo & the ex-football player pursued (intent) swung/kicked (intent) & connected (intent).

I know they're not on trial right now, but they could be.

The intent of Dorenzo becomes obvious. Matt's intent,... perhaps to frighten but not to harm?

There must be some "outcome-based common sense" in the Virginia Law somewhere.

The most encouraging thing to me about Dickens' well written post was the first line!

[jmdickens]

The people living in the apartment will argue self defense as the intent.....but that does not mean attacking someone who is threatening to harm you. Debatable in this situation.

You can use your hand as a weapon or making someone believe it is a weapon....you know, make the shape of a gun and have it in your jacket and say, "I have a gun" and that can still be considered a weapon with assault attached.

This is why lawyers stay busy....

[ASHLEYDUNTON]

If people could see what Matt looks like, they'd be really questioning who the victim is.

Ohh but don't worry the ones that beat the living day lights out of him, are on Tech's Basketball court, I'm sure you can catch them at 7:00 on ESPN.

[PAmedic]

I pray for the family, and thank God for the fact that Matt wasn't holding the "not a real weapon" when the cops showed up.

I can assure you- had the above scenario occured in my area, we would be discussing a memorial service.

There is no time to debate just how lethal (or not) a weapon is when the actor is pointing it at a victim, let alone law enforcement, in the COMMISSION OF A ROBBERY.

This is bad, but it easily could have been a very real tragedy.

[thepostman]

If people could see what Matt looks like, they'd be really questioning who the victim is.

Ohh but don't worry the ones that beat the living day lights out of him, are on Tech's Basketball court, I'm sure you can catch them at 7:00 on ESPN.

I don't say this to be mean but why do you come on here to read stuff??

If my dad had anything to do with any D1 coaching position I would avoid their message board like a plague. People can be brutal on message boards, why do that to yourself?

I don't defend how some people act, but its the way it kind of works

[jmdickens]

If people could see what Matt looks like, they'd be really questioning who the victim is.

Ohh but don't worry the ones that beat the living day lights out of him, are on Tech's Basketball court, I'm sure you can catch them at 7:00 on ESPN.

Ms. Dunton, I saw the pictures and thought the very same thing.

I did mention self-defense, however I guess I should elaborate

You can use reasonable force in amount and duration based on the circumstances to protect your person. The force you use must be proportional in some sense. There must be an immediate threat of harm to trigger the self-defense privilege.

But what this means is that once you no longer fear death...aka: realize the weapon isnt real, you are not allowed to go on the offensive (beating the crap out of the person holding the BBgun)

Once again, lawyers have stressful lives arguing this stuff

[Purple Haize]

Grm I'll argue your point. In fact, the reason you bring up for Matt not firing strengthens the intent argument. It can be easily argued that Matt was indeed just hoping to scare the person he drew the gun on. It could further be reasonably assumed that the reason he DIDN'T fire was because he knew if he did then the perceived threat would be over and he would get the tar beat out of him. Which happened anyways.
PA is spot on, that in a lot of places if something like this were to happen there would be a memorial service for someone. To me this is where Matt caught his biggest break, whether he knows it or not. Sure he got his head in, but he can recover from that. Next time he may not be as fortunate .

As for ASHLEY, the victims are the families. Choices were made that didn't just affect himself, but you, your parents and siblings. There is no need or benefit of shifting blame to anyone else. It are his actions that put everyone in this position, and if he doesn't realize that, then he has a long way to go. I pray he does and for strength and wisdom for your family to make the right and sometimes difficult choices.

[rogers3]

I pray for the family, and thank God for the fact that Matt wasn't holding the "not a real weapon" when the cops showed up.

I can assure you- had the above scenario occured in my area, we would be discussing a memorial service.

There is no time to debate just how lethal (or not) a weapon is when the actor is pointing it at a victim, let alone law enforcement, in the COMMISSION OF A ROBBERY.

This is bad, but it easily could have been a very real tragedy.

...why even take action when the robbery itself was of an illegal substance. It reminds me of my kids when they fight- no matter who is the aggressor, the other is usually at fault, as well. Did they even steal anything or were they looking for their illegal substance that had been stolen from them... or not paid for. VT sure does have some winners on their teams!