TV crime shows often depict plea deals as a method of catching a murderer by offering less jail time to an accomplice in exchange for his testimony. Seldom, however, do we ever see plea deals offered to the main criminal himself. After all, why make a deal with someone you’ve already got dead-to-rights? Yet that’s what happened last week when Forsyth County prosecutors offered a plea deal to Aquavis Hickman.
In April of this year Hickman, then a 17-year-old student at Parkland High School, walked to the front of his classroom and began shouting profanities at his female teacher who was seated at her desk. All of a sudden, he landed a hard slap to the right side of the teacher’s face. He then stepped back and asked if she wanted another slap. “I don’t want it,” she said. Nevertheless, Hickman then slapped her again, this time so hard that it snapped her head back and knocked her glasses to the floor. Hickman then danced around shouting, “Ain’t nobody coming. You just got slapped. Go back to teaching.” The shocking incident was captured on video by a student in the classroom.
This was not Hickman’s first time acting out. Earlier in the year he had threatened another teacher with violence and, according to the district attorney, “joined two other people to cause a riot at the school.” Yet shortly after his arrest for slapping his teacher, the Forsyth County D.A. seemed resigned to trying Hickman as a juvenile. Later, when Hickman’s second offense came to light, prosecutors charged the young man with five felonies including two assaults on government officials, communicating threats in connection with the slapping incident, inciting a riot, and second-degree kidnapping.
In North Carolina, such crimes can carry a prison term of up to 7 years. That means, under the law, Hickman could serve as many as 35 years behind bars. But hold the presses. Last week prosecutors offered Hickman an unbelievable plea deal. If he pleads guilty to all five charges, then all charges will be consolidated into a single Class “E” felony. Speaking with the Winston-Salem Journal, Hickman’s attorney Andrew Keever said that under the terms of the consolidated deal, a judge could give his client a suspended sentence and put him on probation. How nice.
This plea deal flies in the face of logic or justice. Back on May 8, Forsyth District Attorney Jim O’Neill, Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn, and Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough held a news conference at which time they announced a zero-tolerance policy ”for any activity that threatens public safety in schools.” Kimbrough and Penn must have been shaking their heads in disbelief upon hearing of Hickman’s plea deal. For now, Hickman and his attorney are considering the deal, but they’d be fools not to take it. Meanwhile, the trial is set for September 9 in Forsyth Superior Court.
Speaking with the Journal back in April, Michelle Jordan, a magnet school coordinator at Brunson Elementary said, “People aren’t born to do what that young man [Hickman] did,” and she indicated that the way to prevent such behavior is by hiring more school-based social workers. With all due respect to Ms. Jordan, I believe that some kids ARE born to do exactly what Hickman did, and no amount of counseling will cure him. Of course, Hickman’s attorney would disagree with me. Andrew Keever told the Journal that since the slapping incident, his client, “has made significant changes in his life.” I guess that means since Hickman hasn’t assaulted or kidnapped anyone while awaiting trial, then he must have reformed.
Thanks to the plea deal, Hickman’s teacher has now been slapped in the face three times: twice by Hickman, and once by the district attorney.
Consolidated Plea Deal is Criminal
TV crime shows often depict plea deals as a method of catching a murderer by offering less jail time to an accomplice in exchange for his testimony. Seldom, however, do we ever see plea deals offered to the main criminal himself. After all, why make a deal with someone you’ve already got dead-to-rights? Yet that’s what happened last week when Forsyth County prosecutors offered a plea deal to Aquavis Hickman.
In April of this year Hickman, then a 17-year-old student at Parkland High School, walked to the front of his classroom and began shouting profanities at his female teacher who was seated at her desk. All of a sudden, he landed a hard slap to the right side of the teacher’s face. He then stepped back and asked if she wanted another slap. “I don’t want it,” she said. Nevertheless, Hickman then slapped her again, this time so hard that it snapped her head back and knocked her glasses to the floor. Hickman then danced around shouting, “Ain’t nobody coming. You just got slapped. Go back to teaching.” The shocking incident was captured on video by a student in the classroom.
This was not Hickman’s first time acting out. Earlier in the year he had threatened another teacher with violence and, according to the district attorney, “joined two other people to cause a riot at the school.” Yet shortly after his arrest for slapping his teacher, the Forsyth County D.A. seemed resigned to trying Hickman as a juvenile. Later, when Hickman’s second offense came to light, prosecutors charged the young man with five felonies including two assaults on government officials, communicating threats in connection with the slapping incident, inciting a riot, and second-degree kidnapping.
In North Carolina, such crimes can carry a prison term of up to 7 years. That means, under the law, Hickman could serve as many as 35 years behind bars. But hold the presses. Last week prosecutors offered Hickman an unbelievable plea deal. If he pleads guilty to all five charges, then all charges will be consolidated into a single Class “E” felony. Speaking with the Winston-Salem Journal, Hickman’s attorney Andrew Keever said that under the terms of the consolidated deal, a judge could give his client a suspended sentence and put him on probation. How nice.
This plea deal flies in the face of logic or justice. Back on May 8, Forsyth District Attorney Jim O’Neill, Winston-Salem Police Chief William Penn, and Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough held a news conference at which time they announced a zero-tolerance policy ”for any activity that threatens public safety in schools.” Kimbrough and Penn must have been shaking their heads in disbelief upon hearing of Hickman’s plea deal. For now, Hickman and his attorney are considering the deal, but they’d be fools not to take it. Meanwhile, the trial is set for September 9 in Forsyth Superior Court.
Speaking with the Journal back in April, Michelle Jordan, a magnet school coordinator at Brunson Elementary said, “People aren’t born to do what that young man [Hickman] did,” and she indicated that the way to prevent such behavior is by hiring more school-based social workers. With all due respect to Ms. Jordan, I believe that some kids ARE born to do exactly what Hickman did, and no amount of counseling will cure him. Of course, Hickman’s attorney would disagree with me. Andrew Keever told the Journal that since the slapping incident, his client, “has made significant changes in his life.” I guess that means since Hickman hasn’t assaulted or kidnapped anyone while awaiting trial, then he must have reformed.
Thanks to the plea deal, Hickman’s teacher has now been slapped in the face three times: twice by Hickman, and once by the district attorney.