Barnett sentenced for BB gun shootings

By Catherine Bratic     2/4/10 6:00pm

Former Rice student Caitlin Barnett was sentenced to two years of community supervision on Jan. 26 for an assault she committed while enrolled at the university. Although Barnett had originally been charged with the felony of aggravated assault, the charges were downgraded by the judge, and Barnett received deferred adjudication in lieu of a guilty sentence.On Sept. 6 and 7, a string of BB gun shootings occurred on Rice's Outer Loop, perpetrated by Barnett and three others, who were not Rice students, from inside a car.

Later that month Barnett was arrested along with John Michael Chargois, Paul Helton and Bonnie Mung. All four were charged with felony aggravated assault; however, their trials occurred independently.

Barnett withdrew from Rice shortly after being charged. Her case has proceeded throughout the fall semester, only recently coming to a close. She could not be reached for comment.

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Although Barnett was originally charged with a felony, a plea bargain facilitated by her lawyer, Houston attorney Dorian Cotlar, negotiated the charge down to a less-severe Class A misdemeanor, the maximum sentence for which is one year in prison. In exchange for Barnett's guilty plea, Judge Susan Brown of the 185th district court deferred adjudication on the case, instead sentencing Barnett to two years of community supervision, commonly known as probation, and fining her $500.

"There's a huge difference between an aggravated assault charge and a misdemeanor assault," said Houston attorney Brian Warren of Capitaine, Shellist, Warren, and McAllister, LLP.

Warren speculated that the charges were downgraded to a misdemeanor because a BB gun is not usually defined as a deadly weapon, one of the conditions for a felony aggravated assault.

"I doubt the legislature envisioned this scenario of a couple of kids riding around in a truck with a BB gun when writing the penal code," Warren said.

The other defendants in the BB shooting also received deferred adjudication and a fine of $500. However, they were ordered to undergo five years of community supervision instead of two, as their charge remained a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

Under the terms of her community supervision, Barnett must refrain from violating any laws, report to a community supervision officer once a month, submit to random drug tests and refrain from any contact with the victims or fellow perpetrators in the case. Barnett must also perform 10 hours of community service each month and participate in two programs, one aimed at reforming juvenile offenders and another addressing weapons safety.

Barnett's sentence of deferred adjudication in this case means that if she fully complies with the terms of her community supervision, no sentence of guilt will appear on her criminal record. However, if she violates the conditions of her parole, she will return to the 185th District Court for sentencing.

"She will have a clean slate with the court if she stays out of trouble for two years," Rice University Police Department Captain Diana Marshall said.

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