Crime & Safety

If Convicted, Occupy Protesters Could Spend 180 Days In Jail

However, Ryan Cartwright, 21, of Palm Springs could face up to a year in prison because of additional counts of resisting a police officer.

Four of the five Occupy Coachella Valley protesters accused of camping in a Palm Desert park without a permit as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement could face up to 180 days in jail, if convicted.

Mary Elizabeth Walker, 22, Stephen Finger, 58, Jayel Aheram, a 27-year-old who is known as Jack Lee Noftsger III, all of Palm Desert, Dustin David Powell, 29, and Ryan Cartwright, 21, both of Palm Springs, face a misdemeanor charge of unlawful assembly.

All but Aheram have pleaded not guilty, because his arraignment is not scheduled until Jan. 17.

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Cartwright faces two additional counts of resisting a police officer, which means he could face up to a year in prison.

Deputy Public Defender Roger Tansey said previously the protesters .

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John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, said he could not comment on whether a deal has been offered in the case.

However, attorney John Patrick Dolan, a criminal defense attorney in Indio who is not representing any of the protesters, said misdemeanor cases rarely go to trial in Riverside County.

"A misdemeanor case like this will likely get plead out. It's just not that big of a deal," Dolan told Patch. "No one would get any jail time for something like this." 

He added that the charges are likely "more symbolic than something that belongs in the criminal justice system."

All of the protesters have already spent some time in the Indio Jail. Aheram spent several days because he refused to sign a citation that he violated city curfew.

In all, 10 Occupy Coachella Valley protesters were taken into custody on suspicion of violating the curfew at Palm Desert's .

Members of the group had been in the park since Oct. 24 as part of the nationwide Occupy movement, meant to draw attention to what demonstrators say is the growing gap between rich and poor.

The city had granted the group a permit for several days to stay overnight in the park, but refused to grant any more permits out of fear that it would set a precedent for other groups to set up residence in the park.

The city attorney has said the city supports the group's first amendment right to protest and use the park during its hours.


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