Mason Larrison
COLUMBUS, Ind. — Sentencing has been moved to June 12 for a teenager who pleaded guilty to felony intimidation with a deadly weapon after he was accused of threatening a group of students with a gun in the Columbus East High School parking lot in February.
Mason Larrison, 18, 3572 Grange Drive, was originally taken into custody on preliminary charges of criminal confinement, intimidation with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm on school property, according to arrest records. His arrest came one day after the parking lot confrontation that followed the Feb. 2 Columbus East-Brownstown Central basketball game, court records state.
Three weeks later, prosecutors announced they were formally charging Larrison with one count of intimidation with a deadly weapon as a Level 5 felony. The former East football receiver could receive no more than six years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $10,000.
After Larrison plead guilty to the single charge on April 3, he was scheduled to be sentenced on May 25. As part of a plea agreement, the defendant agreed to an open plea that allows Bartholomew Circuit Judge Kelly Benjamin to determine the sentence within the confines of state statutes.
But shortly before sentencing was about to begin, defense attorney Andrew Baldwin of Franklin provided Benjamin with a sentencing memorandum. The term generally refers to a written legal document prepared by a defense lawyer in an effort to provide the judge with a complete picture of the defendant.
A sentencing memorandum typically includes legal arguments for a lenient sentence, mitigating evidence, character letters, expert reports and proposed terms for probation.
When asked if Baldwin’s memorandum was part of the public record, a court reporter said such documents are considered confidential much like pre-sentence investigations. However, many details on those confidential reports are often brought up by the judge in open court during the sentencing hearing.
Benjamin said she needed more time to study the memorandum, so the sentencing hearing was postponed until 2 p.m. on June 12, Baldwin said.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
