Nov. 7, 2002 – A former St. Croix policeman began serving 13 days in jail this week after Territorial Court Judge Edgar Ross imposed that sentence for a felony conviction last month on weapons charges and violation of a restraining order.
Johnson Lake, 30, a V.I. Housing Authority officer for six years, got three years in jail on a charge of unauthorized discharge of a firearm and another 180 days behind bars for violating the restraining order. But on both sentences, which run concurrently, Ross suspended all but 45 days of the incarceration time — with the 45 days to include the 32 days he had already served.
Lake's Oct. 3 conviction stemmed from a domestic violence incident last May 12, in which he fired shots into the air after an argument with his wife, Melissa Lake. Prosecutors added the contempt of court charge because Lake also violated an existing restraining order.
According to The Avis, Lake pleaded for the court's mercy at his sentencing hearing on Monday, arguing that his wife and children were suffering in his absence. Assistant Attorney General Tadia Kelly contended that Lake was remorseless for his crime and asked Ross to sentence him to a much longer jail term.
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