Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

DMT Case: Former Student Sentenced to Probation, Community Service

Former Georgetown student Charles Smith and former University of Richmond student John Perrone were sentenced to three years of probation and 200 hours of community service Friday.

The two violated D.C. and federal code when manufacturing the illegal drug dimethyltriptamine in Smith’s Harbin Hall room in October. Once the students were arrested and national media attention mounted, Smith was forced to withdraw from the university, according to a memorandum to the U.S. District Court for the district of Columbia. Both Smith and Perrone have resided in their hometown, Andover, Mass., since their hearing in October, at which they were released into the custody of their parents.

In a memorandum to the court, Smith’s lawyer, Danny Onorato, urged the court to impose a sentence “sufficient, but not greater than necessary,” in keeping with D.C.’s Youth Rehabilitation Act.

“The government and the defense concur in their recommendation that Mr. Smith receive a sentence that permits him to remain at liberty and prove his commitment to returning the productive and law-abiding life that, until now, he has pursued unfailingly,” the memorandum read.

Both parties’ lawyers had recommended six months in prison with an execution of sentence, meaning that if Smith and Perrone do not violate the terms of their probation, they will not have to serve time behind bars. The defense also recommended that the conviction be expunged if the terms of the probation are not violated. The arrest would remain on the defendants’ criminal records.

The government’s memorandum to the court also recommended a three -year probation and 200 community service hours. Thirty of the community service hours must be carried out in the District, and Smith has already completed these hours, according to a document submitted by his lawyer yesterday.

Since the arrest, Smith has been dealing with the repercussions of his first criminal offense, Onorato said in the memorandum. Smith has been volunteering at Lazarus House Ministries in Lawrence, Mass. He has also enrolled at Middlesex Community College and is taking a class at the Harvard Extension School in Boston. Smith is looking to return to being a full-time student in fall and is currently applying to the University of Massachusetts, among other schools. Onorato said that Smith deeply regrets having to leave Georgetown after being a model student throughout high school.

“Since his arrest, Mr. Smith has taken every action available to him to show the court that he understands and accepts responsibility for the wrongfulness of his conduct,” Onorato said in the statement. “He asks the court to consider as mitigating factors that it was an isolated event and that Mr. Smith has moved swiftly and decisively to acknowledge his wrongdoing and re-establish himself as a productive and law-abiding young citizen.”

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