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Fight with officer ends with jail time for Eastern Shore man

'Never put your hands on a police officer and never resist arrest,' said Judge Leslie L. Lilly. 'This is a very serious offense.'
Credit: 13News Now
13News Now

PARKSLEY, Va. (Delmarva Now) -- A man who got into a fight with a Parksley police officer will spend four months in jail.

In a Thursday, March 8 plea agreement in Accomack County court, Luis Cardona, 31, of Hallwood, was originally charged with felony assault and battery of a police officer and several related misdemeanors.

With the plea agreement, Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan agreed not to prosecute the felony in exchange for Cardona’s plea of guilt to disorderly conduct, obstruction of justice and being drunk in public, all misdemeanors.

At about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 21, 2017, a Parksley police officer responded to a disturbance near the Club Car Café, Morgan said. They found Cardona outside a car arguing with a woman inside.

He told police the woman was drunk and could not drive, said Morgan. When the officer tried to calm the situation, the defendant became verbally abusive and finally got into a scuffle with the officer.

“He was clearly intoxicated," said Morgan.

Defense attorney Adam Carroll told the court that incarceration for his client would be a hardship because he drives a truck for his family’s produce business and it would soon be his busy season at work.

“He was trying to prevent his girlfriend from driving," Carroll told the court.

Morgan still argued for punishment for Cardona.

“He should see the inside of a jail,” said Morgan.

He noted that another man, convicted of misdemeanors in connection with the same incident, spent a month plus 10 days in jail.

“Never put your hands on a police officer and never resist arrest,” said Judge Leslie L. Lilly. “This is a very serious offense.”

He fined Cardona $250 and sentenced him to two consecutive 12-month sentences with all but four months of that time suspended. He ordered him also to complete 80 hours of community service.

He told Cardona he could serve that time on weekends if the sheriff allowed it.

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